Kingdom Hearts
by Vixen7117
Summary: When a rare pure heart is shattered and scattered across the lands, it is up to two nobodies to find and collect the fragmented heart before the leader of the hopeless. A story that takes elements from Kingdom hearts(minus the complicated story)
1. Simple and Clean

One moonlit night in the castle garden.

"Do you know what a heart is?" Munakata asked.

"Is that are existence?" Nanami asked.

"Very good" munakata said," the heart is what defines us and gives us our strength"

"Strength?" Nanami asked.

"Our family holds the power to summon the ultimate weapon through our hearts" munakata said," like this".

Munakata summons a silver keyblade.

"The keyblade" nanami said.

"Yes, but it is more than a blade that can vanquish despair" munakata said," It is the key to unlocking all locks, including the locks on the heart".

"How do you do that?" Nanami asked.

"That's what I am going to teach you from this day forward" munakata said," Now reach out your hand and summon your Keyblade".

Nanami extended her hand out.

"Focus on the Hope inside your heart" munakata said.

Nanami summons a rose quarts keyblade.

"Now we will begin" munakata said.

...

It had been about four years since Nanami started her Keyblade training. Her adopted parents had raised her well and now she Seventeen years old.

Nanami happily ran down the castle halls until her mom caught her.

"What's the hurry?" Chisa asked.

"Sorry it's just such a nice day" Nanami said," I wanted to go see if anyone came back yet"

"Last I checked they were all in the garden" Chisa said.

"Really?" Nanami asked.

"Yep" Chisa said.

"Then I'm going to go see them" Nanami said before racing towards the garden," love you"

"Love you too sweetie" Chisa smiled.

As soon as Nanami disappeared down the hall, munakata walked out of his room.

"She's grown up so strong and so elegant" munakata said," thanks to you".

"Well aren't you a humble king" Chisa joked.

...

Once Nanami reached the tropical gardens she began her search. She searched along the garden path until she reached the fountain. There she saw a boy in a long black cloak with lengthy black hair. When she looked closer she saw he had crimson eyes.

"Excuse me" Nanami said," who are you?"

"Nobody" the boy said.

"You can't be nobody" Nanami said.

"Nanami" a familiar voice called.

Nanami turned her head to see her friend ibuki mioda. Ibuki happily trotted up to Nanami before embracing her.

"Ibuki missed you so much" ibuki said.

"I'm glad to see you" Nanami smiled.

Following ibuki, were the rest of nanamis friends.

"Ibuki be careful not to squeeze her too hard" Sonia said.

"Giggity" teruteru laughed.

"You pervert that's not what she meant" hiyoko said.

"Yeah, Sonia would never be that lewd" Souda said.

Nanami laughed, but when she looked over, to where the boy was, he was gone.

"Is something wrong?" Mahiru asked.

"I just thought I saw something" Nanami said," but I guess it was nothing".

"Want me to investigate" peko said.

"No I think it's fine" Nanami said.

"Hey why don't we chat over some grub" Akane suggested.

"Hey, where are your manners" fuyuhiko asked.

"It's a miracle that she went this long without asking" ryotwoa said.

"I'm sure we have food in the kitchen" Nanami said.

"It is unwise to lead this beast to your horse of food" gundam said.

"Oh then I'll go check with my mom to see when we're eating" Chiaki said.

"What a marvelous idea" nagito said.

...

Once the welcome dinner was prepared, everyone, including the king and queen, sat at the dinning hall.

"It's so nice to see you all again" Chisa smiled.

"The pleasure is all ours" nekomaru.

"How are the islands doing?" Chisa asked.

"When we regrouped we all concluded that everything was fine" mahiru said," but some of us think we spotted some type of small shadowy monotone creature"

"Hmm..that's a bit troubling" Chisa said," what do you think honey?"

"We can send further teams to investigate" munakata said," have you alerted the island leaders?"

"We didn't want to cause a disturbance based on a few sightings" Mikan said.

"Still, we can't risk the possibility of an increase in heartless" munakata said," I'll alert the leaders myself"

"Who wants dessert?" Chisa asked, trying to change the subject.

Everyone agreed and the dinner continued in piece.

...

Later that night, Nanami thought to herself as she prepared for bed.

'It must be so exciting to visit different islands' Nanami thought,' maybe once I master my keyblade, dad will let me go with my friends to visit different islands'.

"I doubt it" Nanami said," my heart is too valuable"

...

Halfway into the night, Nanami was awoken by a loud thunder. She woke up and rushed to her window to see a dark shadow looming over the castle. Falling from the shadow, were monotone shadow creatures in the form of bears and other creatures. Knowing the danger, Nanami rushed to her parents bedroom. Fortunately, her mother was already outside in the hall.

"I think we are under attack" Nanami said," where are the others?".

"They went off to fight" Chisa said," but we need to get somewhere safe"

"Okay" Nanami agreed.

...

The two ran through the hallway and into the ballroom, only to find a cloaked figure was waiting for them.

"Geez what a lousy escape route" the figure said.

"Who are you?" Chisa said as she summoned her golden keyblade.

"Oh sorry, I thought the cloak would be more ominous" the figure said," guess you should see the face of your enemy".

The person lifted their hood to reveal pink blonde hair tied in ponytails.

"The name is Junko enoshima" the person said as they posed," and despair is my domain"

"Are you the one who summoned these hopeless?" Chisa asked.

"Bingo" Junko said," now, unless you want your kingdom to be consumed by despair, you'll give me what I want"

Nanami shivered as she realized what Junko was going to ask for.

"I'm here for the pure heart" Junko said, pointing at Nanami.

"Never" Chisa said.

"Sorry if my phrasing made it sound like you had a choice" Junko said.

"I will never let you have nanamis heart" Chisa said," neither will the others"

"Oh you mean the king and his fourteen blind knights" Junko asked," they're too busy with my army of monohopeless"

Then the creatures from the floor emerged from the floor.

"Now surrender the pure heart or else my monohopeless will rip it out" Junko said.

Chisa looked around at the horde of monoheartless surrounding them before sighing.

"I'm sorry for what I'm about to ask" Chisa whispered," but we have no other choice so do it while I distract them"

Nanami nodded solemnly prompting Chisa to charge at the monoheartless. As Chisa fought, Nanami summoned her rose quarts keyblade and turned it to her chest.

"You wouldn't" Junko said," that is a far worse fate than I'm asking for"

Ignoring Junko, Nanami willed her keyblade to locate her heart. Tears welled up in her eyes as she remembered her happiest memories. Once the heart was located, Nanami moved her keyblade forward and shattered her heart into sixteen pieces. Nanami fell to the floor as sixteen fragments of light left her body and dispersed beyond Junko and the monohopeless reach. By the time Nanami hit the floor, all of her essence had left her. Now Nanamis body had become an empty shell.

To be continued...

Next time: The Nobody Awakens.


	2. Twilight Town

...Darkness

"Hey, are you awake?"

...sound

"If you're awake please open your eyes"

The empty shell opened her eyes to see a boy with green eyes and dark brown hair standing over her.

"Can you speak?" The boy asked.

The shell tried to recall something or anything to help her understand but to no avail. With dazed eyes, the shell looked around. She was laying on a bed in some kind of normal bedroom. The shell looked back at the boy.

"I guess not" the boy said," but I'm sure you'll learn on your own".

The shell continued to stare at him.

"Still, even if you can't talk yet, you should have a name" the boy said,"hmm...how about Chiaki?"

The shell blinked at the sound of her new name.

"Oh right I forgot to tell you my name" the boy said," I'm Hajime"

"Ch...ia...ki" Chiaki tried to say.

"Yeah, that's it" Hajime said with a smile," this calls for a celebration".

Hajime walked over to his refrigerator and opened the freezer. When he came back he had two packaged ice cream. He opened one before offering her a blue ice cream on a stick.

"Here, why don't you try some" Hajime said," its called sea salt icecream"

Chiaki held the ice cream, but wasn't sure what to do with it.

"You eat it like this" Hajime said before biting into the ice cream.

After a few seconds of observing, Hajime eating, Chiaki took a nibble of ice cream and started to eat.

"You must be a fast learner" Hajime laughed.

...

After the sea salt icecream, Hajime gave chiaki some easy books to read. Unfortunately, chiaki was too tired and fell asleep. Hajime decided to let her sleep in his bed while he would sleep on the floor.

"Goodnight Chiaki" Hajime smiled.

...

The next morning, Hajime awoke to see Chiaki reading and surrounded by books. Chiaki noticed him and stared at him.

"Good..morning...Hajime" Chiaki said in a slow robotic tone.

"Good morning" Hajime said," did you read all these books?"

"Yes" Chiaki said.

"Just like I thought, you are a fast learner" Hajime said.

"Hajime...where did I come from?" Chiaki asked.

"Uh..well that's hard to explain" Hajime said.

"I want to know" Chiaki said.

"I guess you would ask sooner or later" Hajime said," I would of preferred later".

Hajime pulled up a seat to chiaki. Chiaki stared at him with her empty eyes making Hajime upset.

"I'm sorry I just can't" Hajime said as he stood up.

Hajime tried to walk away until he froze in place. A light glowed in his chest before popping out as an orb of light. Hajimes hair then grew to a lengthy black just as his eyes turned crimson.

"Hajime?" Chiaki asked.

"Yes and no" the person said," I am Hajimes nobody: Izuru"

"Where is Hajime?" Chiaki asked," what is a Nobody?"

"To answer your first question, I am currently using Hajimes body" Izuru said," Hajimes essence is right here"

Izuru pointed to the ball of light as it floated towards Chiaki.

"To answer your second question, a nobody is a heartless body that gains sentience" Izuru said," you and I are emotionless husk that remain when our former selves lose their heart".

"Am I a nobody?"Chiaki asked.

"Yes" Izuru said.

"What happened to my original self" Chiaki asked.

"She shattered her own heart" Izuru said.

"Why would she do that" Chiaki asked.

"I doubt she had faith that her heart would be restored " Izuru said," if someone else had shattered her heart, I would understand but her self sacrificing action makes no logical sense to me".

"Thank you for explaining these things to me, but may I speak to Hajime?" Chiaki asked.

"Very well" Izuru said.

Izuru beckoned Hajimes heart towards him. Hajimes heart responded before floating back into Izuru. Once Hajimes heart was back in place, izurus hair turned back to short brown while his crimson eyes faded to green. Hajime panted after the transformation, showing that Izuru was gone.

"Sorry about that" Hajime panted," that happens sometimes".

"Izuru explained it to me" Chiaki said," everything about nobodies and how I lost my heart".

"Figures he would" Hajime said.

"Hajime, what should I do now?" Chiaki asked.

"Well you have two choices" Hajime said," you can stay here or you can try to look for the pieces of your heart"

"I hadn't noticed it until I learned about nobodies, but I have this empty feeling inside of me...I think" Chiaki said," do you feel it too?"

"No, that's a trait that is usually exclusive to people without hearts" Hajime said solemnly.

"Is there a way to fill this emptiness?" Chiaki asked.

"Only if you have a heart" Hajime said.

"Then I would like to find my heart" Chiaki said.

"Are you sure?" Hajime asked," if you don't have a heart you don't have to get hurt".

"I want to reclaim my heart so that I can express things similarly to you...I think" Chiaki said.

"I guess, if it's that important to you, I'll let you go find your heart" Hajime said," but I'm coming too"

"Thank you" Chiaki said.

...

The two stepped out of Hajimes apartment and into the twilight lit streets.

"What is this place called?" Chiaki asked.

"Twilight port" Hajime said," but i think twilight town is a better name"

"Is a piece of my heart around here?" Chiaki asked.

"I don't think so" Hajime said," but if we search the different islands we might find the pieces".

"How do we get to the other islands?" Chiaki asked.

"We can take my boat" Hajime said.

"You have a boat?" Chiaki asked.

"Yep, so all we need is some supplies and then we'll be ready to set sail" Hajime said.

...

Once the proper supplies was gathered, Hajime and Chiaki walked to the port. There a fairly small boat floated at the dock. On the side were two scratched out names 's.s koizumi' and 's.s LP'.

"Does the boat have a name?" Chiaki asked.

"It use to, but then I thought I'd try to think of a new name" Hajime said," unfortunately I haven't been able to come up with anything".

"Thank you for sharing your boat with me" Chiaki said.

"Sure" Hajime said.

The two boarded the ship. Once on board, Hajime readied the sails before taking the wheel. Finally they were off to another world. Chiaki looked at the setting sun over the horizon as sea salt air breezed through her hair.

This is the beginning.

...

Meanwhile, in a remote location, Junko tapped her foot. Eventually her sister, mukuro, came running in.

"I'm sorry I'm late" mukuro said.

"Whatever, just give me the report" Junko sound.

"We found a piece of the pure heart" mukuro said.

"Excellent" Junko said

"On another note, the prisoner still continues to fight" mukuro said.

"She'll give in to the despair eventually just like all the others" Junko said," everything is going according to plan, but some things are missing"

"Is there anything I can do?" Mukuro asked.

"Yes, send out the hopeless beasts" Junko said.

"Yes Junko" mukuro saluted before running off.

"Hopefully my plans will come to fruition" Junko said," ha, hope".

To be continued...


	3. The jungle world

The ship sailed smoothly over the water. Near the horizon, Chiaki could see an island. The first island was covered in lush jungle trees and one giant jungle tree in the center that stood above all the other tress.

"We're going to try that island first, if that's okay" Hajime said.

"That's fine" Chiaki said in her usual slow robotic voice.

"I'm sure we'll find a piece of your heart there" Hajime said.

...

The two docked on the island beach and hopped off. Chiaki looked at the foreboding jungle and the crystal blue water. When she felt the sand it felt so soft yet rough at the same time.

"Are you ready?" Hajime asked.

"Yes" Chiaki said.

The two walked into the jungle to find it was surprisingly quiet. Everywhere they looked, they couldn't find a single animal or insect.

"That's odd" Hajime said," usually the jungle is supposed to be full of sound".

"Why would it have sound?" Chiaki asked.

"Because the exotic birds that live here are always making sounds to communicate with each other" Hajime explained.

"I didn't know that" Chiaki said.

"I wonder if your heart fragment would be somewhere significant like that giant tree" Hajime said.

Chiaki nodded.

"Then let's head towards it" Hajime said.

...

Together the two walked until Chiaki heard a rustle in the trees above. She looked up, but nothing was there. When she looked back ahead she saw a person standing in the way. Not just any person either, it was Nanami. Chiaki turned to Hajime to see his face full of shock.

"There you are" Nanami smiled," I've been looking all over for you, Hajime".

Despite the illogicalness of nanamis appearance before her nobody, Hajime didn't appear to be questioning her presence.

"Nanami, is that really you?" Hajime asked.

"Yes" Nanami said," come closer and see for yourself".

Hajime obeyed nanamis command without a second of hesitation.

"Nanami I'm so glad you're here" Hajime said.

As Hajime walked closer to Nanami, Chiaki noticed something peculiar. Nanami, despite her physical presence, didn't have a shadow. Following this observation, Chiaki realized the trap. The second after her realization, Hajime had reached Nanami. From the above trees, a reptilian tongue shot out and hit Hajime in the chest. When the tongue tried to pull back Hajime dreamed in agony.

"It's trying to steal my heart" Hajime managed to say before his heart was ripped out.

Chiaki watched until she felt something in her right hand. She looked down to see she had a rose quartz keyblade. Without hesitation or thought, Chiaki raced towards the tongue and sliced it off with her keyblade. Hajimes heart escaped, but could not return to his body thanks to Izuru taking over.

"It seems we have found the cause of the jungles silence" Izuru said.

Following Izurus statement, Nanami disappeared and a giant beast fell down from the above tree branches. The beast was a giant monotone chameleon with a rainbow tail. Its face was hidden behind a black mask and it had a black heart symbol on its chest.

"This is a hopeless, born from the despair in someones heart" Izuru said," if it continues to exists, it will seek out and steal more hearts".

This beast was clearly a threat, so Chiaki had no choice, but to fight it. Fortunately, her body had remembered and held onto nanamis keyblade skills. Chiaki watched as the chameleon swept the dirt up from the ground, with its tail, creating a dust cloud. When the dust settled, the chameleon hopeless was gone. Chiaki looked around until she saw a large shadow on the ground. She recognized it was the chameleon hopeless and proceed to hit the area above the shadow. When her keyblade hit something it revealed the invisible chameleon. Chiaki continued hitting it until it fainted. Then chiakis keyblade glowed and moved towards the chameleons heart emblem. A beam of light shot out and shined onto the heart emblem causing the chameleon to become paralyzed. Static surrounded the hopelesses body before bursting into a cloud of black smoke. From the smoke rose several hearts the hopeless had stolen. One particular heart floated towards Chiaki before entering her keyblade.

"A heart that hides its true face into order to be loved was bound to fall to despair" Izuru said," was its true self really that bad?"

Chiaki looked down at her keyblade. Then the two walked to the giant tree followed by Hajimes heart.

...

When they walked to the giant trees base, they found a small shrine carved into the trees giant trunk. On the shrine pedestal was a fragment of nanamis heart. For a fragment, it glowed softly brighter than the any other heart chiaki had seen. Chiaki stepped forward causing the heart fragment to float back to its original body. When the heart fragment entered her chest, Chiaki felt a fuzzy warmth. Following the fragments entry, Chiaki was overcome with sleepiness before passing out.

...

"Mom when can I go see the other worlds?"

'Maybe when you're older'

"But why not now?"

'Because you are still too young and inexperienced'

" okay"

'I know, why don't you see if you can get me a piece of fruit from one of the trees in the garden'

"But they're so tall"

'I'm sure you'll find a way to get them'

"Alright, I'll do it"

'That's my girl'

...

When chiaki woke up, she was back on the boat. She looked over to see Hajime steering the boat.

"Hajime?" Chiaki asked.

"Oh Chiaki you're awake" Hajime said," how are you feeling?"

"Confident" Chiaki said

"That's great" Hajime smiled," thanks for saving my heart"

"Of course" Chiaki said.

"I'll stop the boat for now so we can eat" Hajime said.

"Is there any sea salt icecream?" Chiaki asked.

"Sorry, but I don't" Hajime said," is curry okay?"

"Yes" Chiaki agreed.

...

That night in the remote location, Junko waited again. She stared down at one of nanamis heart fragments. Once again mukuro came in with her report.

"For once you're early" Junko said.

" I have bad news" mukuro said," one of the hopeless beast was defeated".

"So just check on its Nobody and I'll infect them with despair till they become a hopeless again" Junko said.

"I already checked, but none of them have their hearts" mukuro said.

"Now I see" Junko said," very well you're excused"

"Are you sure?" Mukuro asked.

"Yes, now leave before I change my mind" Junko said.

"Thank you" mukuro said before leaving.

Once mukuro left, Junko looked down at the heart fragment. The fragment glowed as bright as the moon. Junko, tempted by the heart fragments light, tried to pick it up only for the light to burn her hand.

"If only I could hold your heart" Junko said," but I'm sure I will hold it in the future".

To be continued...

A/N For visual reference as to what the keyblades and hopeless look like, you can search danganhearts24 on Tumblr.


	4. The sunken World

The next morning, Chiaki and Hajime planned where to go next.

"Let's see, the closest island now would be this one" Hajime said,"do you think there's a way to better track down your heart fragments?"

"I don't know?" Chiaki said.

As she said that, chiakis Keyblade suddenly appeared in her hand. Before she could ask, the keyblade moved forward and flashed a line of light over the sea and past the horizon.

"It looks like your keyblade knows a way" Hajime said

"Then we should probably follow it...I think" Chiaki said.

"I thought you said you felt confident" Hajime said.

"I am...I think" Chiaki said.

...

They followed the light for about an hour or two until they reached a really tiny island surrounded by a water like barrier. Now the light from the keyblade shot down into the water.

"Looks like we're going for a swim" Hajime said," can you swim?"

"I don't know" Chiaki said.

"Then I'll go first" Hajime said," wish me luck"

Hajime stretched a bit before jumping into the barrier. However, when he jumped into the barrier he transformed into a brown sea lion. Chiaki looked unsurprised compared to Hajime who was swimming frantically out of panic. For some reason, Chiaki didn't like seeing Hajime so panicked so she decided to jump into the barrier after Hajime. When chiaki jumped in, she transformed into a mermaid with a pink tail.

Once in the water, Chiaki swum up to the Hajime sea lion. Hajime could no longer speak due to his new form, but he seemed to calm down thanks to chiakis presence.

Together, the two practiced swimming in their new forms. As they swam, they noticed the lack of fish and other marine life. It was odd considering the large amounts of coral and sea plants. Despite the lack of fish, Chiaki still liked looking at the colorful coral.

Just then a loud shriek echoed through the water. Chiaki and Hajime turned to the sounds origin to find a large dolphin hopeless. The dolphin hopeless was mostly black with white stripes and horns on its head. Meanwhile its tail and dorsal fin were pink with a blue stripe. Just like the chameleon hopeless, the dolphin hopeless had red eyes and a heart insignia.

Once again, the dolphin hopeless screeched a horrible ear piercing screech. The screech echoed through the ocean making it sound even worse. Chiaki tried to cover her ears, but it had little effect. Then the dolphin hopeless swam past her and towards Hajime. Hajime was helpless against the dolphin hopeless as it swam circles around him. Chiaki tried to hit the dolphin hopeless with her keyblade, but it was too fast.

'I need to save him' Chiaki thought as she looked around frantically.

Then she spotted the small island above the water. She signaled Hajime to swim to shore before trying and failing to attack the dolphin hopeless. Once Hajime had swum to the safety of the land, Chiaki followed.

Unfortunately, the two stayed in their new forms even on land. The two watched as the dolphin hopeless circled around the island like a shark. At least they were safe, but now Chiaki and Hajime were stuck on a small island.

Then the keyblade started to glow and move towards the water. When the tip of the keyblade touched the water it shot out a stream of electricity into the water. Once the electricity reached the dolphin hopeless it screeched before fainting. Without hesitation, Chiaki shot a beam of light from her keyblade and onto the dolphins heart insignia. Just like before, the hopeless burst into a puff of black smoke full of hearts. Among the hearts, on bigger heart stood out and floated towards Chiaki before going into her keyblade.

...

After the battle, Chiaki and Hajime jumped back into the water to find the heart fragment. They searched through the coral reef, now teeming with fish. Finally they found a shrine carved into the island and decorated with coral. On the shrine pedestal rested a heart fragment. It shined as bright as a pearl in the water. Chiaki swam forward causing to heart fragment to gravitate towards her. Once the heart fragment fitted into place, Chiaki was overcome with sleep and fainted.

...

'How was your day?'

"Great, me and ibuki started practicing a song together"

'Aww that's so sweet, but I didn't know you could play an instrument'

"I didn't either, but then ibuki found this instrument I could play called a triangle"

'You're as precious as a pearl. Why don't you sing too?'

"I guess I could, but I don't want to steal the attention from ibuki"

' Then go see if you can sing together, knowing ibuki she'll be super excited'

"Okay, I'll do it. Thanks mom"

'Anytime dear'

...

Chiaki woke up from her dream still a bit dazed. She was back to being human on the ship with Hajime. Hajime took notice and walked over to her.

"Glad to see you're awake" Hajime said," how are you feeling?"

"Proud" Chiaki said.

"That's peculiar" Hajime said," still I'm glad I'm not a sea lion anymore"

"I thought you were cute as a sea lion" Chiaki said

"You did?" Hajime asked with his face full of blush.

"What's wrong Hajime?" Chiaki asked," you're face is bright red"

"It's nothing" Hajime lied.

To be continued...

A/N For visual reference to what the hopeless and keyblades look like, check out danganhearts24 on tumblr.


	5. World of ice

"So wait, when did you learn to summon electricity from your keyblade?" Hajime asked.

"I don't know" Chiaki said," it just sort of happened"

"Do you know any other spells?" Hajime asked.

"Let me see" Chiaki said.

Chiaki raised her keyblade and tried to think of a spell. Just as she tried to think, a ball of fire shot out of her keyblade and into the ocean.

"Can you do anything else?" Hajime asked.

"No" Chiaki said.

"I bet your spells are connected to the heart fragments or maybe the hearts that went into your Keyblade" Hajime said.

"That might be it...i think" Chiaki said.

"Why do you say 'I think'?" Hajime asked.

"Cause I do think" Chiaki said.

"I can understand that, but you should say things with more confidence" Hajime said.

"Okay" Chiaki said.

...

This time the keyblade light led them to an island of ice and snow.

"It's a good thing I got us some coats" Hajime said.

Hajime fished out a pair of long black cloaks.

"What do you think?" Hajime said.

"It will do...I-" Chiaki said and stopped herself.

"Good job" Hajime smiled.

Without another word, Chiaki put her coat on. It was warm and soft, but the sleeves were a bit long on her.

...

The frozen island was rather calm with no flurries in sight. Once again there were no signs of life, but it wasn't too odd considering their environment. Chiaki looked down at the snow as she walked.

"What's wrong?" Hajime asked.

"I don't know" Chiaki said in her usual monotone voice," I just want to stare at the snow".

"Maybe you find the snow beautiful" Hajime said.

"What is 'beautiful'?" Chiaki asked.

"Well it's when you admire something because it interest you or it makes you feel a certain emotion" Hajime explained.

"Then Hajime is beautiful to me" Chiaki said slowly.

"Ehh?!" Hajime asked with a face full of blush.

"You're face is red again" Chiaki said.

"Oh, it must be the cold weather" Hajime said," here let's hurry up and find that heart fragment".

...

The two walked for what seemed like an hour. By the time they could see a glimpse of a shrine, the sun was already setting.

"We better hurry before it gets too dark" Hajime said.

Hajime took a step forward before freezing in his tracks. Over the horizon and heading straight towards them was a giant flurry. Not wasting a second, Hajime grabbed chiakis arm and pulled her behind a big lump of snow. He expected the flurry to trap them for a while, but as soon as it started the flurry seized. The flurry cleared to reveal a monotone mammoth hopeless with chains around its neck. Like the other hopeless before it, the mammoth had a heart insignia on its chest and crimson eyes.

Chiaki responded to the threat immediately by summoning her keyblade. Meanwhile Hajime watched and analyzed the environment. The mammoth trumpeted before charging towards Hajime. Chiaki countered by shooting a wall of flames between Hajime and the mammoth. Hajime looked over the flames and at the cracks in the ice.

"Chiaki! Aim the flames at the ice surrounding the hopeless" Hajime shouted.

"Got it!" Chiaki said before aiming her keyblade.

The ice rapidly melted around the mammoth, perfectly trapping it on an isolated mass of ice. With the mammoth trapped, Chiaki could aim at its heart insignia. However the mammoth refused to stand still. That's when Hajime ran to chiakis side causing the mammoth to turn its head to face Hajimes heart. Chiaki aimed her keyblade and fired a beam of light.

The mammoth trumpeted loudly before melting into shadow. As the shadow disappeared, a collection of hearts flooded out. One of the hearts floated to chiaki before entering her keyblade.

"Uhhh that was tiring" Hajime sighed as he fell onto the ice," good job"

"You did a great job too...I think" Chiaki said.

"Thanks" Hajime smiled before his heart left his body.

"Hajime?" Chiaki asked.

"His heart has grown rather tired so I will be taking over" Izuru said.

"Okay" Chiaki said.

...

As the two walked towards where the heart fragment was, Chiaki looked up to see northern lights dancing in the sky.

"What's that?" Chiaki asked as she pointed to the sky.

"That is called an aurora borealis" Izuru said," a spectacle of light cause by magnetic fields"

Chiaki looked up at the lights, yet she couldn't comprehend their beauty.

"Do not concern yourself with registering beauty" Izuru said," you are a nobody and therefore you can not feel"

"Okay" Chiaki said.

...

Finally they reached a shrine made of ice that shined like crystals. The lights from above perfectly reflected on the ice creating a spectrum of splendid lights all around the shrine. Shining softer yet brighter than all the other lights was nanamis heart fragment. Chiaki stepped forward causing the heart fragment to gravitate into her. It felt warm and soft as it entered into her chest. Following that sensation, Chiaki fainted.

...

"I can't do it"

'Yes you can'

"But I'm so weak compared to you papa"

'Maybe now, but as long as you continue to train with all your heart you will become stronger'

"I guess, but it's so tiring"

'Tell you what. Once you become strong enough to beat me, I'll take you to a world where lights dance in the sky.'

"Really?"

'Of course, but you have to continue to train'

"Okay"

'Good girl'

...

Chiaki awoke from her slumber on the boat.

"How are you feeling?" Hajime asked.

"I'm feeling strong" Chiaki said

"That's great" Hajime smiled

"I guess" Chiaki said.

...

Back at junkos lair, Junko waited for another progress report from mukuro.

"Let's see, how many fragments have we collected?" Junko asked.

"We currently have three fragments collected" mukuro said.

"Uh that's such a low number" Junko whined," but I guess it will make it all the sweeter when I piece them together and create the key"

"Would you like a report on the prisoner?" Mukua asked.

"Nah I already know what you're going to say" Junko said," now go"

"Yes Junko" mukuro saluted before departing.

"It will be a long time before I have your heart, but it will be worth the wait" Junko said as she looked at the heart fragment.


	6. World of Floating Lands

"Let's see" Hajime said as he looked at the map of worlds," based on where your key beam is pointing it looks like we're going to the world of floating lands"

"Floating?" Chiaki asked.

"Yeah like not touching the ground" Hajime explained.

"I didn't know that existed" Chiaki said.

"Yep well just shows how unique these worlds are" Hajime said.

"Can people float?" Chiaki asked.

"No, but I've heard rumors of some that could" Hajime said," fortunately the world of floating lands has a barrier around it that will give us wings to fly"

"How?" Chiaki asked

"Remember the barrier around the sunken world?" Hajime asked," when ever you cross a barrier like that it transforms you to better traverse the specific world"

Just then a flock of seagulls flew past the boat. Chiaki looked at the peculiar creatures and focused on their wings.

"Soon we're going to fly like those creatures" Hajime pointed out," isn't that exciting?"

"I don't know" Chiaki admitted," what is excitement?"

"Its when you can't wait for something to happen" Hajime explained.

"Then I'm not excited" Chiaki said much to Hajimes hidden dismay.

...

Eventually they saw their desired world over the horizon. Giant land masses hovered over the water just like Hajime had explained. Surrounding the world of floating lands, was a barrier of golden light. When chiaki and Hajime crossed the barrier they felt a numb sensation in their backs before they formed wings. Chiaki developed bright blue wings while Hajime developed dull brown wings.

"Looks like you have blue jay wings" Hajime said,"their blue and white birds that tend to stick out"

"What about your wings?" Chiaki asked.

"Just your average house sparrow" Hajime said," it's nothing special".

Chiaki stared at her wings and looked at Hajimes wings. She didn't have to understand beauty to know that they were very different. Yet, for some reason, she felt compelled to comfort Hajime.

"Your wings look interesting...I think" Chiaki said.

"Thanks" Hajime said," now lets try flying".

Hajime flapped his wings and sure enough he was flying. Chiaki only observed since you only recently learned that humans could fly. Hajime noticed this and tried to show her.

"Here, spread your wings out" Hajime said to which Chiaki obliged," now just move them up and down"

Chiaki flapped her wings just as Hajime instructed and sure enough she started to fly like him.

"You're a real fast learner" Hajime said," it took me a week to learn how to fly my first time"

"Have you been here before?" Chiaki asked.

"About a few months ago" Hajime said," if I remember the shrine should by on the highest floating island"

Hajime flapped his wings and took off prompting Chiaki to follow. Chiaki looked around at the floating land masses covered in lush grass and stone architecture. The floating lands were only connected by waterfalls that flowed from the highest floating land to the lowest. One big floating mass, in the center of the others, held a village similar to twilight town. Though it looked abandoned upon further inspection.

"You want to look at the town?" Hajime asked.

"No, we need to focus on the heart fragment" Chiaki said.

"Okay, we're almost there" Hajime said.

...

The two soared for some more time until they spotted the highest land mass floating over a land mass containing a big lake. However In the center of the lake rested what looked like large a white stone. Upon further inspection, Hajime identified it as something else.

"Chiaki, I need you to protect my heart while Izuru handles this" Hajime said.

Before Chiaki could ask, Hajimes heart escaped his body and went to her. The body that was left behind grew long black hair as its wings transformed black like a ravens. From the lake, the white thing moved causing the water to ripple. The white thing lifted its head and wings to reveal it was a swan hopeless. It's belly was black as night and a golden heart insignia was on its head. Chiaki guarded Hajimes heart, while Izuru just watched the swan hopeless spread its wings and start to fly. With grace, the swan hopeless flew from its lake at straight towards Chiaki. Chiaki summoned her keyblade as she she flew away holding Hajimes heart. The swan hopeless eagerly followed through the gaps in the floating land masses. Even when chiaki flew through thin gaps the swan hopeless easily followed by temporarily folding its wings inward.

Just as chiaki was starting to run out of breathe, her keyblade acted on its own and shot a beam of black light. The beam hit one of the floating land masses giving Chiaki full control over where it would go. Seeing the power she now held, Chiaki used the floating land mass to wedge the swan hopeless against another floating land. The swan hopeless cried out as it struggled to get free. Chiaki tried to aim at the heart insignia, but couldn't land a hit while the swan hopeless frantically waved its head around. Just then A sharp boulder flung towards the swan hopeless and pinned its neck against the land. Seeing her chance, Chiaki aimed and fired the key beam at the heart insignia.

The swan hopeless sang one last beautiful song before turning into a cloud of darkness. Hearts rose up like stars from the darkness and dispersed to find their bodies. Meanwhile one heart stayed behind and entered chiakis keyblade. Chiaki looked up to see Izuru watching her from above. Knowing the hopeless was defeated, Chiaki flew past Izuru and towards the shrine.

At the shrine a piece of nanamis shined on the alter. It's radiant light caused the reflective marble to shine like heaven. Chiaki was about to accept the heart fragment when she noticed Izurus shadowy figure.

"Do you understand beauty yet?" Izuru asked.

"No" Chiaki said.

"Predictable" Izuru said.

"Why do you ask?" Chiaki asked.

"For comparison" izuru said.

"To what?" Chiaki asked.

"To her" Izuru said as he pointed to the heart fragment," based on my examination you are still her shadow".

"What does that mean?" Chiaki asked.

"You are hollow and inferior to her" Izuru said.

For some reason those words tugged a little at Chiaki. It didn't make sense considering that she had not been physically hurt.

"You may proceed with what you were previously doing" Izuru said.

Chiaki walked up to the alter an accepted the heart fragment. However now the warmth she usually felt, felt more like a burning fire. As the painful feeling of being burnt rose in her chest Chiaki fainted.

...

"Hello, what are you doing here?"

'I'm sorry, I kind of got lost. Do you know where mister Tengan is?'

"I think grandpa is training with my dad right now."

'Figures he would. I'll just ask him another time.'

"I can ask him for you. What do you need?"

'I want to ask him if I can become a night'

"Really? Why?"

'Well, I want to be able to do something I can be proud of rather than be a worthless nobody'

"Don't call yourself worthless or a nobody!"

'But its true'

"If you believe its true it will come true"

'Sorry'

"It's okay. Just remember that you have a greater freedom"

'A greater freedom?'

"You can go anywhere and do anything. Meanwhile I have to stay here and stay bound to my duties"

'Are you a knight too by chance?'

"No, I'm the heir to the throne"

'Wait you're a princess?!'

"Yeah, but I don't see how that really changes anything"

Nanami there you are. I was looking all over for you.

"Sorry mama"

Oh, and who's this little scamp?

"He's looking for grandpa, so he can become a night"

I see, then I'll go tell Tengan to meet with you. What is your name?

'H-'

...

Chiaki woke up back on the boat to see Hajime as always.

"How are you feeling Chiaki?" Hajime asked," you were out longer than usual"

"I don't know" Chiaki said.


	7. World of Swamps

"Well this isn't good" Hajime said as he looked through the pantry.

"What is it?" Chiaki asked

"Looks like our food supply is running low" Hajime said," we better restock at the next village we see, but knowing our luck it'll be a ghost town".

"What's wrong with that?" Chiaki asked.

"I'd hate to steal supplies, but I'm sure if I leave money for it then it will be okay" Hajime said," I'll check to see where we're going".

Hajime checked the map only to gulp in fear.

"Looks like we're headed to the world of swamps" Hajime said a bit disheartened.

"What's a swamp?" Chiaki asked.

"It's kind of like the jungle but wetter and less vibrant" Hajime explained," personally I don't really like swamps because they smell funny".

Chiaki tilted her head unsure as to how she should respond.

"Say have you checked to see if you have any new abilities again?" Hajime asked.

"Yes, but there's nothing new just the same three" Chiaki said.

"I guess it's not as predictable as we thought" Hajime said," that's okay though since we're making good progress on collecting the heart fragments".

'Right the heart fragments are important to hajime' Chiaki thought,' but why?'

...

They docked at the world of swamps fisher village. Sure enough it looked empty like the one back at the floating lands. Hajime and chiaki were ready to head to the shrine as usual until chiakis keyblade came out on its own.

"I don't think I summoned it" Chiaki said.

"Maybe a hopeless is nearby" Hajime said.

The keyblade lifted and pointed at a nearby diner.

"Are you hungry?" Hajime asked.

"I don't think so" Chiaki said.

"Let's just check it out and see" Hajime said.

When the two entered the diner it was rather dirty and void of life. Hajime checked the counter and noticed a bell.

"Hello" Hajime asked," is anyone in here".

"Oh yes I'm here" a feminine voice called from the kitchen.

Following the voice was a sound of stuff being moved and locks unlocking. The door opened to reveal a rather pudgy woman with rosy cheeks and an apron on.

" I apologize for taking so long" the woman said," my name is miss hanamura"

"It's not a problem" Hajime reassured," If anything we should apologize for barging in".

"I'ma glad I finally get to see somebody after hiding in my kitchen these past few days" hanamura said.

"Did a Hopeless attack?" Hajime asked.

"Is that what ya call those giant monotone monsters?" Hanamura asked.

"Yeah" Hajime said.

"Then that's probably what attacked and made everyone disappear" hanamura said, "if I remember it looked like a big ol boar"

"Wait, did you actually see it and survive?" Hajime asked.

"Yep, but I think my lucky charm helped me getaway" hanamura said," cause when I had it, that beast ran away from me".

"Could we see your lucky charm?" Hajime asked.

"Sure, I guess you can look at it" hanamura said.

Hanamura went back into the kitchen before coming out with her lucky charm. In reality the lucky charm was actually a piece of nanamis heart.

"Excuse me but that actually belongs to someone very important" Hajime said.

"Really?" Hananamura asked," did they drop it?"

"Sort of, you see that's a fragment of their heart" Hajime explained," we're on a quest to find all of this persons heart fragments".

"I'd give it to you if I could, but I'm afraid it's the only thing protecting me from that beast" Hanamura said," but If the beast was defeated then I could give it back to you".

"We can do that, thank you very much" Hajime said.

"Say what were your names?" Hanamura asked.

"I'm Hajime hinata" Hajime said.

"I'm Chiaki" Chiaki said in a soft voice.

"Then I'll remember the names of my heroes and make you my best dish when you get back" Hanamura said.

"We're looking forward to it" Hajime said only for Chiaki to tilt her head in confusion.

...

The swamp was just as damp as Hajime had said. Fortunately, Chiaki couldn't really feel disgust or discomfort from some smelly swamped. On the other hand, Hajime could and hated every minute in the swamp.

"Ehh" Hajime squirmed as he stepped into another mushy patch of grass,"god damn it I hate swamps!".

"What is hate?" Chiaki asked.

"Well it's when you dislike something so much you don't want to be near it" Hajime explained," is it okay if I let Izuru take over?".

Chiaki was about to say yes, but then she remembered her last encounter with Izuru and how he somehow managed to hurt her.

"No, I want to stay with you...I think" Chiaki said causing Hajime to blush.

"I guess I can bare the swamp for a day" Hajime said overlooking chiakis true intentions.

...

The two walked a little further until they came across some broken trees. Hajime examined the ground and sure enough there were large boar tracks. As soon as he did the boar monster charged out from its hiding spot. Chiaki and Hajime dodged leading the boar to run and get its tusk stuck in the tree. The boar hopeless was rather fat with thick long tusk. Its patterns were like a regular boar but the color was monotone. In between the boars eyes lied the heart insignia. Before Chiaki could attack, the boar hopeless broke the tree in half and freed its tusk. Chiaki looked around for anything that could help her when she spotted two trees.

"Hajime, I have an idea" Chiaki said," I need you to lead this hopeless in between those two trees"

"Got it" Hajime said.

While chiaki ran over to the trees, Hajime started to get the boar hopelesses attention.

"Hey fatty!" Hajime shouted at the boar hopeless.

The boar hopeless turned its head and huffed through its snout before charging after Hajime. Hajime ran as fast as he could to the trees, the boar hopeless right on his tail. Once Hajime jumped through the two trees where Chiaki was, the boat charged and trapped its tusk in the trees. With no time to lose, Chiaki shot her key beam at the boar hopelesses heart insignia. The boar squealed until it turned into a puff of darkness full of hearts. One heart rose above all the others and floated into chiakis keyblade.

"Looks like our job is done" Hajime said," now we can get out of this god damn swamp".

Chiaki nodded and followed Hajime through the swamp.

...

Back at the port town, some people were starting to wake up.

"Do you smell something?" Hajime asked.

"Yes, but I don't what it is or how to describe it" Chiaki said.

"It smells delicious to me" Hajime said.

Hajime and chiaki entered the diner to see two steaming bowls of udon waiting on the counter. Miss Hanamura heard them enter and popped up from behind the counter.

"Welcome back" Hanamura said," I take you two beat that beast"

"Yep" Hajime said.

"Great now I can give back that heart fragment" Hanamura said.

"Could you give it back after we eat, please?" Hajime asked to which Hanamura nodded.

While the two ate, Chiaki noticed Hajime was rather happy as he ate.

"Wow, this food is amazing" Hajime said.

"The best meals are made with love and eaten together" Hanamura said.

"What is love?" Chiaki asked innocently causing Hajime to look at her a bit sad.

"Well love is like this bubbly feeling in your heart that goes off when think or are with someone or something that makes you happy" Hanamura explained.

Chiaki felt her chest and remembered her lack of a heart.

'If I don't have a heart then I can't feel love' Chiaki thought,' is that bad?'.

...

After the meal, Chiaki received the heart fragment. Once again she felt the fragment burn into her before she fainted.

...

'Oh Nanami you're growing up so fast'

"You think so?"

'Of course i know. You have the same spark in your eyes that your father had when he was maturing'

"Maturing?"

'How to explain it? Your on your way to finding your true love'

"But I love everyone."

'True, but this is a special kind of love. When you find that someone your hearts will sync similar to me and your father.'

"Do you really think I'll find someone like that?"

' I have no doubt, for your heart is so beautiful'

...

Chiaki opened her eyes to find her self in her hammock. She looked around for Hajime only to find him asleep on the floor. It didn't seem right to chiaki to leave him on the floor, so she decided to move him into his hammock. She mustered all her strength to pick him up and move him into his hammock. After she exerted her strength she managed to get him into his hammock. She could have just left him like that, but she decided to put his blanket over him so he wouldn't get cold. As she looked at Hajime asleep in his bed, Chiaki became aware of how close she was to him.

'Maybe I can feel what he feels like now' Chiaki thought.

She raised a hesitant hand towards Hajimes chest, but ultimately decided against feeling him. With nothing else to do, Chiaki went back to her bed. However when she was in bed she heard Hajime say something in his sleep.

"I have to...become a knight...no matter what" Hajime said in his sleep.


	8. World of Zen

The next morning Hajime and Chiaki woke up as usual.

"Hey Chiaki did you help me into my bed last night?" Hajime asked.

"Yep" Chiaki said.

"Thanks for that" Hajime said," I wanted to wait for you, but you were out for so long that I fell asleep".

"I'm sorry" Chiaki apologized.

"No it's fine" Hajime said," it's not like you can control how long you're going to be out of it"

" it would be nice if I could" Chiaki said.

"On the bright side miss Hanamura helped me restock our food supplies" Hajime said," she even made a few meals for us to eat".

"That's good" Chiaki said.

"Here, try this" Hajime offered an apple," just take a bite out of it".

Chiaki nibbled at the apple like a mouse before taking bigger bites. As she ate she noticed not just the unique texture, but also a sensation on her tongue she never experienced before.

"Well?" Hajime asked," how is it?"

"It's crunchy and juicy" Chiaki said," but I have this weird feeling on my tongue".

"That's called taste" Hajime said," it probably taste sweet to you".

"Hmm" Chiaki hummed.

...

After breakfast, Chiaki raised her keyblade and located the next world that contained a heart fragment.

"This time we're headed to the world of zen" Hajime said.

"What is zen?" Chiaki asked.

"It's a calm state of mind" Hajime said," that world is notorious for how peaceful it is"

"Like sleeping?" Chiaki asked.

"Kind of" Hajime said," it'll be nice to get a break from all those crazy worlds"

"What if there's another hopeless?" Chiaki asked.

"I'll take that over trudging through another swamp" Hajime said.

...

They arrived at the world of zen during midday. From the outside they could see dozen upon dozens of bamboo stalks growing all over the island. There was a humble dock for them to dock so they did. As they walked on the dock the two felt a calming breeze.

"See I told you this place was peaceful" Hajime said.

"It's very quiet" Chiaki said.

"Well that's kind of the point" Hajime said.

...

The two walked through the bamboo forest till they came upon a town. Surprisingly the town was filled with people all moving about without a care.

"I guess there isn't a Hopeless here" Hajime said," what do you think Chiaki?".

Hajime looked down to see Chiaki hiding behind him. She didn't look scared, but it was clear that she wasn't comfortable either.

"I guess you've never seen this many people before" Hajime said to which Chiaki nodded," don't worry no one will hurt you"

Chiaki still refused to move from Hajimes back.

"Here, why don't you hold my hand" Hajime offered.

Chiaki was a bit hesitant but ultimately decided to take his hand since he offered. When she took his hand it felt firm yet softly warm. Something about holding his hand filled her with comfort probably because she trusted him.

Hand in hand, Chiaki and Hajime walked through the village. Little did they know someone was watching them.

"Excuse me" Hajime asked a shop keeper," do you know how to get to this worlds shrine?"

"Why of course, you can use this map" the shopkeeper said.

"How much?" Hajime asked.

"Free of charge" the shopkeeper said.

"Why is that?" Hajime asked.

"You two just look so cute together that it brightened up my day" the shopkeeper smiled.

"Oh, thank you" Hajime blushed.

...

Once the two got far away enough from the town, Chiaki released Hajimes hand.

"What's that word you use to convey gratitude?" Chiaki asked.

"Thank you" Hajime said.

"Thank you Hajime for holding my hand" Chiaki said.

"Of course, it's not a problem" Hajime said," now let's get to that shrine".

The two walked off and ,soon after, someone followed them.

...

After a not too difficult walk, Chiaki and Hajime saw the shrine steps. However before they could continue on, there was a loud screech that shattered the silence. Following the screech, a giant crane hopeless appeared. It's white body was covered in black flower patterns that made it like it was wearing a kimono. The red eyed crane hopeless possessed an orange heart insignia on its chest.

Chiaki readied her keyblade, but then the crane hopeless used its big fan like wings to create a gust of wind that blew her and Hajime away. After the gust of wind, the crane hopeless performed a little dance. Before Hajime and chiaki could recover, the crane hopeless stretched its neck forward to try to peck out Hajimes heart. The crane almost succeeded had someone not acted like they did.

"Not today bitch!" A feminine voice yelled.

Chiaki looked to see a blonde haired girl jump out of the bamboo forest wielding a spear. Using the spear, the girl jabbed it into the cranes head and forced it down to the ground.

"Hey, doe eyes!" The girl shouted to chiaki," uses that key thing or whatever and kill this thing"

Chiaki raised her keyblade and aimed at the heart insignia before firing her key beam. The crane cried out before devolving into shadow. Only a few hearts escaped the despairing darkness including one heart that entered chiakis key blade.

"Thank you for helping us" Chiaki said to the girl.

The girl ignored Chiaki and moved right over to Hajime. Hajime looked up at the girl a little fearful. Just then the girl grabbed Hajime by the collar before proceeding to yell at him.

"Where the hell were you?!" the girl yelled at him," I don't give me that 'I went to find myself' crap!"

"Na..natsumi...I..can't breathe" Hajime choked prompting the girl to drop him.

"Tsk, you're so pathetic" the girl said," I'm surprised to see you found a girl to take pity on you".

"Who are you?" Chiaki asked with a tilted head.

"Sorry about that" the girl said," the name's Natsumi Fuyuhiko"

"I'm Chiaki" Chiaki said.

"So how did a delicate girl like you end up with Hajime?" Natsumi asked.

"He rescued me..I think" Chiaki said causing natsumi to burst into laughter.

"Are you saying this pathetic sap saved you?" Natsumi asked as she pointed to Hajime.

"Yes" Chiaki said causing natsumi to laugh even more.

"I'm stronger than you remember" Hajime said after his throats recovered.

"Please, you'll always be a scrub to me" natsumi laughed.

"I'm not a scrub" Hajime growled.

"Scrubby Hajime" natsumi chanted with a smile.

"Have you two met before" Chiaki asked.

"Yeah, me and Hajime use to be in the same class of reserve knights" natsumi said," Hajime always acted like a big eyed puppy in that class it was so pathetic"

"What are reserve knights?" Chiaki asked.

"It was some program to turn average people into extra knights for the royal family, but it never came to fruition" natsumi explained.

"It's ancient history" Hajime said a bit irritated," come on Chiaki let's just get the heart fragment and go"

"Hey, hold your ass for a minute" natsumi said," why don't you spend the night at my place, my treat"

"We're fine" Hajime said.

"Fine?" Natsumi asked," you both smell like shit"

"What is shit?" Chiaki asked.

"You don't need to know" Hajime said," fine we'll take your offer"

"Great, this is gonna be fun" natsumi said," but knowing how directionless you are, I should stick with you while you visit the shrine and then I'll show you to my house"

"Thank you" Chiaki said.

"Your welcome" natsumi cheekily smiled.

...

The trio scaled the stairs and reached a shrine made of jade. Floating over the alter, was a fragment of nanamis heart. Chiaki reached out to the heart fragment causing it to float into her hands. Delicately she pushed the heart fragment into her chest. This time she was numbed to the fiery feeling and fainted peacefully.

...

"Hey mom did that boy become a knight?"

'I'm afraid not'

"Really? Why?"

'Your father sensed weakness and despair in his heart'

"But everyone has despair in their hearts"

'I'm sorry but his heart just wasn't strong enough to be a knight'

"Why do people have despair in their hearts?"

'It's just how the world is. When our hope dies, despair is born'

"That's so sad"

'That's why it is our job to guide and protect everyone from despair'

"Okay"

'Don't worry, I'm sure you will become a wonderful queen in time'

...

When chiaki woke up, she found herself in a large silk bed. The room she was in looked like the world of zen. As chiaki looked around she noticed Hajime wasn't with her, so she opened the door to look for him. When she opened the door and entered the hallway she heard Hajime and natsumi talking. She followed their voices all the way to the dinning room. There natsumi and Hajime were eating a buffet of food.

"Oh Chiaki your finally awake" natsumi said," you were out for so long that spikey here almost barged into your room. The lowly pervert"

"I'm not a pervert, I was just worried" Hajime said," stop saying that stuff before Chiaki starts repeating some of it"

"What is a pervert?" Chiaki asked.

"You don't need to know" Hajime said," just please don't repeat anything natsumi says that you don't understand"

"Okay" Chiaki nodded.

"Geez your just as hard assed as ever" natsumi said.

"And your just as spoiled as ever" Hajime retorted.

"Touché Hajime" natsumi said," now that chiaki's awake she can take a bath".

"What's a bath?" Chiaki asked.

"Did you seriously not tell her what a bath was?" Natsumi asked," whatever, I'll just show her how to do it".

Hajime got a bit flustered after that last part"

"Geez your such a pervert" natsumi said," were both girls so it's natural".

...

After natsumi showed Chiaki how to bathe and rinse, the two soaked in the big outdoor bath under the stars.

"So I know about the pure heart and all those hopeless beast" natsumi said," that's probably why my brother and peko disappeared"

Chiaki tilted her head and stared at natsumi.

"I still can't believe you're a nobody" natsumi said," you look an act so human"

"I don't fully understand my existence" Chiaki said," all I know is that I have to collect the heart fragments".

"But isn't there anything else you want?" Natsumi asked.

"I guess if I really had to, I would want to stay with Hajime" Chiaki said.

"Yeah Hajime sure is a nice guy" natsumi said," you want to know a secret?"

"What?" Chiaki asked.

"I use to be in love with Hajime" natsumi said," but don't tell him that"

"What happened?" Chiaki asked.

"He just disappeared all of the sudden" natsumi explained," I waited for weeks then months, but I never saw him again till now"

"Where did he go?" Chiaki asked.

"I don't know, but whatever made him disappear must have changed him some how" natsumi said," he's a little more confident than he was back then"

"Is that why you don't love him anymore?" Chiaki asked

"No, cause a few months after he disappeared that's when I stopped loving him" natsumi said," I needed to move on with my life and I did"

"You can stop loving people?" Chiaki asked

"Yeah, but it's not always easy" natsumi said," why do you love someone?"

"I don't know" Chiaki said," nobodies can't feel emotions like love"

"Who told you that crap?" Natsumi asked," cause they're probably full of shit"

"Why?" Chiaki asked.

"Because what they said to you can't be true" natsumi said.

"Thank you natsumi" Chiaki said.

"You're welcome" natsumi said," just don't tell Hajime about anything I told you"

"Okay" Chiaki nodded.

...

After the bath, natsumi let Chiaki sleep in her bed while she slept in a futon. Hajime slept elsewhere on natsumi orders. Chiaki curled up in the sheets and fell right to sleep.


	9. World of Sand

The next morning, after breakfast, Hajime and chiaki were ready to leave when natsumi stopped them.

"I'm coming with you" natsumi said.

"Wait, why?" Hajime asked.

"I gotta find my brother" natsumi said," and I don't trust you two alone"

"No, it's too dangerous" Hajime said.

"Clearly it's not if a shrimp like you is still in one piece" natsumi said," besides I got a spear and combat training"

"It would be nice to travel with one more person...I think" Chiaki said.

"Fine" Hajime sighed," but you better not complain or cause trouble like when we were reserve knights"

"It's a deal" natsumi said

...

Once everyone settled on the boat, Chiaki used her keyblade to track down the next heart fragment. Natsumi watched in amazement at the keyblade while Hajime checked the map of worlds.

"Looks like we're headed to the world of sand" Hajime said.

"What a lazy name for a world" natsumi commented.

"Don't blame me" Hajime said," blame the person who named the world"

"Sounds like it's going to be hot" natsumi said.

"Yep, that's why we'll need to dress properly and pack a lot of water" Hajime said," we could get some at the nearest village there, but I'm worried it will be another ghost town".

"Right, cause a hopeless could have attacked" natsumi said," but maybe the town will have a protector like me"

"We can only hope" Hajime said.

...

They sailed for a while till the spotted the world of sand. As their boat drew closer, the trio started to feel the heat of the world.

"Uh god" natsumi said as she started to sweat," how can anyone stand to live in this heat?"

"Is it really that bad?" Chiaki asked.

"Wait, Chiaki you're not even sweating" natsumi said," how?"

"I don't know" Chiaki said.

"Does the heat bother you?" Hajime asked.

"I don't think so" Chiaki said.

...

The trio docked on the beach before making their way to the nearest town. Once again the town was pretty lively. It looked like a normal desert town, except it was full of steam punk contraptions like fans that sprayed mist. Surrounding the town, was a tall wall that overshadowed the village. In the the center stood a high tower that shined like a light house.

"Excuse me sir" Hajime asked a nearby merchant," do you have some clothes we could purchase?"

"Of course" the merchant smiled.

Chiaki took a pink robe, natsumi took a yellow robe, and Hajime took a green robe.

"That will be 30 in total" the merchant said.

"Wait a minute" natsumi said," why?".

"The robes are made with silk from the world of zen" the merchant explained.

"No they're not" natsumi said," this is cheap string made to look like silk".

"What proof do you have?" The merchant asked to which natsumi pulled out a silk lace necklace with a tiger pendant.

"This right here is silk from the world of zen" natsumi said," I know because I've lived there my whole life"

"Fine I'll drop the price to 27" the merchant said.

"You'll drop it to 21, or else I'll tell everyone about your little scam" natsumi said.

"Okay, 21 it is" the merchant said.

Hajime paid the merchant while natsumi smiled triumphantly.

"I didn't know you still had that charm" Hajime said.

"Of course I do" natsumi said," my brother gave it to me after all"

"What animal is it?" Chiaki asked.

"It's called a tiger" natsumi said," my brother and I were always like tiger cubs"

"You still are" Hajime said.

"Tigers are badass so I'll take it as a complement" natsumi said.

Just before the trio was about to leave the town, chiakis keyblade appeared in her hand and pointed. The trio looked to see that the keyblade was pointing to a tall tower in the center of town.

"We better check that out then" Hajime said.

"I usually hate detours but if it means I don't have to go through a desert I'll gladly take it" natsumi said.

...

As the trio approached the tower they walked through a town garden full of exotic plants. When they reached the tower doorstep it was guarded by two guards.

"Excuse me, but what is this tower?" Hajime asked the guards.

"This is the light tower" one of the guards said," it is not open to the public though"

"Could we talk to the person in charge?" Hajime asked.

"No, she is busy right now" the guard said.

"Hey Chiaki" natsumi whispered," show them your keyblade"

Chiaki summoned her keyblade much to the guards surprise.

"Oh, you must by knights" the guard said," forgive me, I'll show you to lady irumas room".

...

Following the knight, the trio walked through the tower until they came to a steal door. The guard was about to knock until they heard a loud explosion.

"God damn it" a girl screamed from behind the door.

The guard rushed in along with the trio. Inside, a girl with pale pink hair and goggles was covered in smoke next to a broken contraption.

"Lady iruma, are you alright?" The guard asked.

"Nothing the worlds greatest inventor can't handle" the girl said proudly even though she was still a mess," now why are you here".

"These three needed to speak with you" the guard explained," one of them is a knight"

"Fine, I'll play along" iruma said," now leave us be"

"Yes, lady iruma" the guard bowed before leaving.

"Okay what do you lot want?" Iruma said," gadgets, an autograph, sex?"

"No!" Hajime said rather disgusted," we came to find something else"

"Typical virgin" iruma murmured," what are you looking for?"

"A piece of heart" natsumi said," it looks like a fragment of light"

"Yeah we got one of those" iruma said," but we're using it"

"For what?" Natsumi asked.

"Lately there's been this monster that's been trying to attack the town" iruma said," thanks to my genius, I created a machine to repel the beast using that light".

"If we got rid of the monster, could we have the heart fragment?" Hajime asked causing iruma to burst into laughter.

"Sir go ahead, but you'll probably die a virgin" iruma said.

"Get ready to eat you words" natsumi taunted.

"Do you even know where the monster is?" Iruma asked.

"We'll find it on our own" Hajime said before the trio left.

"Good luck on your suicide mission" iruma called.

...

"I never thought I'd meet a girl with a fouler mouth than you natsumi" Hajime joked on their way out of town.

"I may talk shit, but at least I have fucking manners" natsumi said.

"Compared to her you do" Hajime said.

Chiaki watched Hajime and natsumi bicker, but she could tell they were rather close.

'Is this how normal friends talk to each other?' Chiaki thought.

...

Outside the town wall was an endless sea of sand. The sun shined piercingly bright over the hot sand.

"So what's the plan?" Natsumi asked.

"I figured we'd walk a bit away from town and then the hopeless will show up" Hajime said.

"Okay Hajime" natsumi said.

The trio walked about a few hundred yards from the town till the heard something. It sounded like a metallic hiss. Following the sound a giant cobra hopeless emerged from the sand. It's body was pale white with black stripes and the heart insignia under its head. The cobra hissed and flicked its tongue as it stared at natsumi and Hajime.

"Natsumi stand still" Hajime said," if we move it might attack"

"Fine" natsumi said," but what do we do?"

Chiaki took charge and aimed to shoot her keybeam, but then the cobra hopeless swiftly dodged it by entering the sand.

"You better run you bastard" natsumi yelled only for the cobra hopeless to reappear behind her.

The cobra hopeless lunged its fangs at natsumi, but fortunately Chiaki was able to push her out of the way. Before the cobra hopeless could lunge at the two, Chiaki blasted the cobra hopeless with a gust of wind from her keyblade. Natsumi jumped in with her spear and impaled the cobra hopeless through the neck.

"Do it now!" Natsumi commanded as she held the cobra hopeless in place with her spear.

Chiaki fired her keybeam and successfully landed it on the heart insignia. The cobra hopeless hissed before turning into shadow. From the shadow, a few hearts escaped along with one heart that entered chiakis keyblade. Immediately after, natsumi fainted from the heat, so Hajime carried her back to town with chiaki.

...

Back at the light tower, irumas jaw was dropped.

"You actually defeated it?!" Iruma asked.

"Yep, so you don't have to worry about it anymore" Hajime said," now please give us the heart fragment"

"Oh, and I was going to do so much with it" iruma said," maybe you should get on your knees and beg me to give it to you".

"Hell No!" Natsumi yelled.

"Ah I was just kidding" iruma cried," please don't get mad at me".

"We just need the heart fragment" Chiaki reassured iruma," it's nice of you to give it to us...I think"

"O..okay" iruma sniffed," just don't yell at me"

Natsumi rolled her eyes while chiaki nodded. Then iruma led the trio to where the heart fragment was.

"I've never seen these things before" Chiaki said.

"Yeah I made it all by myself" iruma said.

"That's cool" Chiaki said making iruma blush.

"Well of course it's cool" iruma said," I made it after all"

Chiaki walked over to the heart fragment floating in a capsule before taking it out. Hajime stood beside her, ready to catch her when she fainted. Chiaki took a deep breath and pushed the fragment into her chest then fainted.

...

'Nanami, it's time I told you the purpose of the knights'

" okay"

'You see, the knights are an extension of our families will to keep peace and hope throughout the world. When you become queen it will be your duty to decide how to use the knights and for what purpose.'

"I'll make sure they keep balance and protect others like the knights in my storybook."

'That's quiet noble of you, however choosing and maintaining knights will not always be easy'

"Why's that?"

'Even the most hope filled knight can be tainted by despair. You can not allow your knights to fall to despair for they are an extension of your will'

"What about selecting knights? How will I do that"

'In the future you will be free to examine and choose people to become knights. Though you should take into consideration how susceptible they are to despair. For example, I only select people with strong hearts that aren't blinded by false hope'

"It sounds difficult"

'Don't worry. You still have much time to grow and learn'

"Thank you, papa"

...

While chiaki slept, Hajime and natsumi chatted on the boat.

"Hey, I need to know" natsumi said," Where did you go back then?"

"I left to become stronger and I did" Hajime said.

"Really cause you don't show it" natsumi said," you don't even have a weapon"

"I do" Hajime said," I just don't want to use it".

"The worlds don't care what you want" natsumi said," you have to do whatever it takes to survive and protect the ones closest to you"

"I'm sorry I left" Hajime said.

"It's ancient history now" natsumi said," just don't make the same mistake again"

There was silence followed by more silence. Unfortunately Chiaki didn't wake up to shatter the silence that night.


	10. World of Beasts

The next morning, Chiaki woke up feeling rather numb. Hajime and natsumi were busy cooking breakfast when chiaki poked her head up.

"Glad to see your up" natsumi said," I swear Hajime looked like he was about to start freaking out"

Hajime glared at natsumi only for her to smile cheekily. Meanwhile Chiaki stretched and got out of her hammock.

"How are you feeling?" Hajime asked.

"A little tired, but I think I can manage" Chiaki said.

"I'm sure my fish udon will give you the strength you need" natsumi said.

"You really put fish in udon?" Hajime asked.

"Yeah, you gotta problem with that?" Natsumi asked.

"No, it's just I don't want Chiaki to get sick" Hajime said.

"I'll have you know that I've been cooking for myself for more than a year" natsumi said," Chiaki try this and prove Hajime wrong"

Chiaki ate the fish udon slowly as she savored every bite. Her eyes widened as she chewed.

"Well?" Natsumi asked looking for praise.

"It's okay" Chiaki said much to natsumi displeasure.

"Here, let's see where we're headed next" Hajime suggested.

Chiaki summoned her keyblade and projected a light that honed onto something over the horizon. Hajime looked at the map before reporting their next destination.

"The world of Beast" Hajime said.

"Like animals?" Chiaki asked.

"Yep" Hajime said.

"That doesn't sound good" Chiaki said.

"Are you scared of animals?" Natsumi asked.

"Maybe, it's just animals are like people with how diverse an unpredictable they are" Chiaki said," it's unsettling".

"Me and natsumi will be with you, so you don't have to worry" Hajime reassured.

"Yah, if an animal gets too close just say the world and I'll send it running" natsumi said.

"Thank you" Chiaki said.

...

They sailed until they saw the island world full of grassy plains and big mountains. However, this world was surrounded by a barrier like the world of floating lands. Even stranger were the docks that stretched out past the barrier. Staying cautious, Hajime docked the boat outside of the barrier.

"So this must be a transformative barrier" natsumi said as she stared at the barrier," what will we turn into".

"Only one way to find out" Hajime said before leaping into the barrier.

When Hajime landed on the other side, he landed on all fours. Instantly natsumi started laughing as she stared down at the transformed Hajime.

"Oh my god he's so fucking cute" natsumi laughed.

"Hajime turned into a lion" Chiaki said.

Indeed, Hajime had turned into a brown lion with green eyes. To be more exact, Hajime turned into a lion cub. As natsumi laughed at him, Hajime could only hiss and snarl.

"Okay kitty" natsumi said," I'm right behind you"

Natsumi entered the barrier and transformed. Unlike Hajime, Natsumi transformed into a blonde tiger cub. Chiaki followed suit and transformed into a white lion cub.

"Now who's the cute one?" Hajime joked only for natsumi to hiss and bat him in the head with her paw.

"So what now?" Chiaki asked.

"We should probably get use to our new forms" Hajime said.

"It's not that hard" natsumi said only to trip objects herself.

"You were saying?" Hajime asked as he looked down at natsumi.

"Here, you can do it" Nanami said," I think I found a trick".

Chiaki helped natsumi back onto her four paws. Together the trio got use to their transformed bodies until they were ready to move forward.

...

The trio proceeded from the docks to an open savanna full of lush plants. However, there weren't a lot of animals out in the open.

"Ah, if only we could find some animals to prey on" natsumi whined.

"You seem to really like being a tiger" Hajime said.

"I've always wanted to have claws and fangs like a tiger" natsumi said," hey what if you and I wrestled".

"Now you're just acting like a kid" Hajime said," or cub in this case".

"Are you scared that I'm going to beat you?" Natsumi asked with a cheeky smile.

"No, it's just foolish" Hajime said as he stuck his head and tail up proudly.

Natsumi decided to pounce on Hajime anyway causing the two to wrestle each other. Chiaki just watched from the sidelines. As chiaki watched a pink butterfly caught her eye and mesmerized her with its wings. Curious, Chiaki watched the butterfly flutter around until it landed on her lion cub nose.

"I win" natsumi said after she pinned Hajime on the ground.

"Okay, just let me up" Hajime said.

"Not until you admit that I'm the best" natsumi said.

"Fine, you're the best" Hajime said.

"I really am" natsumi smiled before letting Hajime go," don't forget it".

Hajime ignored what natsumi said as he looked at Chiaki with the butterfly still on her nose. Natsumi took notice and smiled. Eventually the butterfly fluttered away leaving the trio behind in the open grass.

"So do where do you think the heart fragment will be?" Natsumi asked.

"It's usually at a shrine, so let's see if we can find that" Hajime said.

"Is that the shrine?" Chiaki asked as she pointed her paw to a giant rock formation.

"Lets check it out" natsumi said before skipping forward.

"Hey, wait up" Hajime said only for Chiaki to pass him.

"Come on slow poke" natsumi teased.

...

Eventually the trio made it to the giant rock formation only to find the mouth of a cave. When natsumi tried to enter a loud bark echoed through the came. A pair of red eyes glowed in the darkness before leaping out of the cave to reveal a hyena hopeless. It's body was solid white with black markings and a line of red fur on its back. The heart insignia was marked on the hyena hopelesses chest. Chiaki summoned her keyblade though it appeared in her mouth this time. Natsumi on the other paw resorted to using her claws and fangs to attack. The hyena hopeless snarled and cried as it lowered its head.

"Chiaki, I'll attack the head" natsumi said," you aim for the heart and fire when you can".

Chiaki nodded her head prompting natsumi to leap onto the hyena hopelesses face and start digging her claws into it. The hyena hopeless shook its head, but natsumi refused to let go as she dug her claws deeper into the beast. As the hyena hopeless struggled, Chiaki aimed the keybeam only for the hyena to dodge it. Hajime leaped into the fight and managed to pin the hyena hopeless down. Chiaki fired her keybeam again and landed the light onto the heart insignia. The hyena hopeless cried before fading into shadow from which hearts flowed out. As the hearts scattered into the sky, one heart stayed behind and entered chiakis keyblade.

"Guess we got it" natsumi panted," but where do these things keep coming from?".

"Likely strong hearts that fell to despair" Hajime said," we should keep moving".

Natsumi tried to speak, but Hajime ran forward into the cave. Chiaki and natsumi soon followed behind. For a while the trio walked through the cave in silence until they spotted a light at the end of the cave. They stepped out of the cave to find a secret watering hole surrounded by boulders. Several exotic animals relaxed by the watering hole including zebras, antelope, a rhino, and many more. At the center of the watering hole lied a little island with a tree. Under the tree stood a tiny alter where the heart fragment lied. Chiaki and the other two leaped over to the island. Staring at the heart fragment, Chiaki took a deep breathe before accepting it and fainting.

...

"Papa what is a hopeless?"

'They are creatures void of hope'

"Where do they come from?"

'The hopeless are born from hearts full of despair'

"You mean they come from people?"

'The hopeless are people, but transformed to hunger for hearts and spread despair'

"That's horrible"

'Sadly that is the reality we face. However we can stop the hopeless and prevent their creation. By spreading hope and vanquishing despair in peoples hearts, we can control the hopeless population to the point where they become mere nightmares.'

"I see, then I promise that I'll do my best to make the hopeless go extinct"

'You're as passionate as your mother'

"And one day I'm going to be as strong as you"

'We'll see'

...

Back on the boat, Chiaki was still asleep. Natsumi watched over Chiaki alongside Hajime.

"Hey Hajime?" Natsumi asked.

"What?" Hajime asked.

"You've been acting strange lately" Natsumi said.

"What do you mean?" Hajime asked.

"I can't shake this feeling that you're hiding something from us" Natsumi said.

"You're just overthinking it" Hajime said," it's been a long time since we've seen each other so it's likely you still see me as the old Hajime"

"Listen dumbass, if your keeping something from me you gotta fess up" Natsumi yelled," think about the group".

"I am, but there are things you're better off not knowing" Hajime said.

"You sound like one of those self entitled knights" Natsumi said," what changed you?"

"She did" Hajime said as he looked at Chiaki, still fast asleep.

After that, the two stayed silent for the rest of the night.


	11. World of Eternal Fire

The next afternoon, Chiaki finally woke up.

"Are you okay?" Hajime asked.

"Yes, I'm just tired" Chiaki yawned.

"How can you be tired after you've been sleeping for like twelve hours?" Natsumi asked.

"I don't know" Chiaki said.

"Well lucky for you, I saved some fish udon just for you" natsumi said proudly.

"Thank you...I think" Chiaki said.

...

Following Chiakis lunch, Chiaki located the next heart fragment location with her keyblade. Hajime looked at the map as always and readied the sails.

"So where to captain?" Natsumi asked.

"The world of eternal fire" Hajime said.

"Damn, that's some name" natsumi said.

"It's as dangerous as it sounds, so we will need to be extra cautious" Hajime said.

"Don't worry" natsumi said," you know I got your backs"

"Thank you natsumi" Chiaki said.

"Sure thing" natsumi said proudly.

...

By the time they arrived, the sun had set and revealed a sky full of stars. The world of eternal fire glowed ominously with rivers of lava. When the trio docked at the beach, the sand was as black as the sky above.

"Stay close and keep your guard up" Hajime instructed.

Together the trio walked through the black beach and over a bridge of rocks.

"So is this red stuff fire?" Chiaki asked.

"Its like liquid fire" natsumi explained.

"However it's really hot and can burn away anything it touches" Hajime explained," so don't touch it"

"Okay" Chiaki nodded.

"Hey, do you get the feeling we're being watched?" Natsumi asked.

"It could be a hopeless" Hajime said," in that case we should just keep moving"

"Yeah, we'd be in some deep shit if it attacked us right here" natsumi said.

...

The trio walked through the spiraling bridge of rocks over the lava until they reached a large open area surrounded by a moat of lava. As soon as they entered the area, rocks clash and feel over where they had previously entered through. Everyone turned to see the sealed exit to find a shadowed figure of a beast looming over the rubble. The beast leapt into the open area and revealing itself to be a tiger hopeless. It looked like a white tiger, minus the red eyes, large size, and heart insignia on its chest. However the most peculiar thing about the tiger hopeless was its long tail that curved around the area like a snake a streak of silver fur on its back. The tail was so long that its end was hidden behind the rubble.

"I got this" natsumi said holding up her spear.

"Natsumi, be careful" Hajime shouted," were surrounded by lava".

"Don't care" natsumi said as she charged towards the tiger hopeless," Chiaki, make sure to shoot it as soon as you get the chance".

Natsumi charged with her spear at the tiger hopeless only for it to swipe at her. Just before natsumi could get hit, she jumped over the incoming paw and stabbed the tiger hopeless in the ribs. The tiger hopeless yowled in pain as natsumi dug her spear deeper into its ribs. Chiaki was about ready to aim her keybeam until a loud roar echoed through the area. Hajime turned his head to see a second tiger hopeless standing over the rubble. This tiger hopeless was black with white markings and a streak of blonde fur on its back. Upon closer examination, Hajime noticed that both tiger hopeless were connected through their long tail. Before Hajime or Chiaki could react, the black tiger hopeless leapt over them and pinned natsumi down.

"Get off me!" Natsumi struggled under the weight of the tigers paws.

Chiaki aimed a fireball at the black tiger to try to get its attention only for the white tiger to get up and take the hit. When chiaki tried to run past the white tiger to reach natsumi, the white tiger pounced on her. Hajime watched in horror as both girls struggled under the tigers paws.

"When I get out, you are going to wish you never met me!" Natsumi shouted.

Then the black tiger moved its head down to natsumi until they looked each other in the eyes. Natsumi tried to break from the tigers gaze only to fall prey to it. As natsumi looked into the tigers eyes she felt a growing feeling of fear as she began to realize.

"Fuyu?" Natsumi asked in a terrified whisper.

The tiger didn't say a word, but rather it nodded.

"No.." natsumi said as tears started to form in her eyes," my brother would never..."

Just before natsumi could start to cry, the black tiger raised its claws and clawed out natsumis heart. The heart floated in the air a bit before being swallowed by the black tiger hopeless.

"NATSUMI!" Hajime shouted as he tried to run to her lifeless body.

The black tiger licked its lips before facing Hajime. Hajime stared at the tiger with eyes blinded by rage and hate before his heart left him. While Hajimes heart floated to a safe place over head, Izuru took over and summoned his own obsidian keyblade. The black tiger lunged at him only for Izuru to cut it right in two through the chest. As the black tiger devolved into shadow the white tiger cried in sorrow. Izuru glared at the white tiger that was full of sorrow and hate. The white tiger charged at Izuru and met the same fate as the black tiger.

Chiaki stared speechless at Izuru as the freed hearts floated around. One heart floated to natsumi and entered through her chest while two other hearts entered chiakis keyblade. Chiaki walked over to natsumis body.

"You need not worry" Izuru said," she will regain consciousness eventually".

"What happened to her?" Chiaki asked.

"She learned the hopelesses true identity" Izuru said coldly," they were nanamis beloved friends and knights all along"

"But how?" Chiaki asked.

"They simply gave into the despair in their hearts and became the monsters you now face" Izuru explained," it doesn't really effect you"

"But they were nanamis friends" Chiaki said.

"Yes, and you are not Nanami" Izuru said," therefore you should not care"

"Still, it feels wrong to see people suffer...I think" chiakis said.

"Nobodies can't feel" Izuru said," never forget that"

Chiaki held her hands over her heart before she took a deep breathe.

"Let's just get the heart fragment and leave" Chiaki said," can you carry natsumi?"

"Yes" Izuru said.

...

The two walked in silence for what felt like hours till the reached a tiny shrine made of obsidian. Chiaki took the heart fragment from its alter and accepted it before fainting.

...

'Today your mother and I have a big surprise for you'

"What is it?"

'We are going to let you pick your own legion of knights'

"Really? Are you sure I'm ready?"

'Of course, it will be better to assemble your most loyal knights now so they will be there for you when you take the throne'

"They won't be old will they?"

'No, they are all your age. Here I have their information right here'

"They all look so interesting. Are you sure they would want to be my knights?"

'I'm sure once they get to know you better and see how selfless and kind you are they will support you through thick and thin'

"Then I'll be there for them through thick and thin"

'That's my girl'


	12. World of Crystal

Hajime watched natsumi and chiaki restlessly as they remained unconscious in their hammocks. Chiaki looked rather peaceful, however natsumi held a rather frightening face. It made sense, considering natsumi learned her brother and friend had transformed into hope hungry monsters. Just remembering Natsumis expression when she realized that awful truth, sent shivers down Hajimes spine. Realizing he was shaking, Hajime clenched his fist in an attempt to still himself.

"You must continue on" a monotone voice echoed in Hajimes mind.

"Right, I can't give up after all I've been through" Hajime said,"but..."

"You can not hesitate" the monotone voice echoed," you have a mission to fulfill"

"I understand" Hajime said as he summoned his obsidian keyblade," I will fulfill my mission".

...

Dawn arrived, yet natsumi and chiaki were still fast asleep. With no other choice, Hajime prepared breakfast for himself. As he cooked alone, Hajime looked at the sun rising out over the horizon.

"Night and Day" Hajime said," it seems that no matter what happens they will always shift between each other like despair and hope".

"You are starting to sound like me" the monotone voice said.

"You are me" Hajime laughed.

"I am and I am not" the monotone voice said," I exist just like a shadow".

"Last I checked shadows couldn't talk" Hajime said.

"Would you prefer that I stop?" the voice asked.

"No, I need the company" Hajime said.

"Those that have hearts are rather emotional" the voice said.

"What about you?" Hajime asked," didn't you lo-"

"Perhaps, but I have more important things to observe than some boring emotion" the voice said.

"Maybe it would be easier not to have a heart" Hajime said," then I wouldn't have to feel these troublesome emotions".

"Pain is preferable to boredom" the voice said.

"Haji..me" Chiaki mumbled in her sleep.

"Chiaki?" Hajime asked as he turned to chiaki.

Chiaki moved a bit before rubbing her eyes and waking up.

"Oh, Chiaki you're awake" Hajime said," I'm glad"

"Is natsumi alright?" Chiaki asked.

"She's still sleeping" Hajime said," but I'm sure she'll wake up feeling refreshed"

Chiaki turned her head and stared at natsumi.

"Here, why don't you eat something" Hajime offered.

"Okay" Chiaki nodded.

Hajime fixed a bowl of rice for Chiaki even though she secretly missed natsumis fish udon. Once she finished her meal, Chiaki located the next heart fragment location.

"The world of crystals" Hajime said as he looked at the map," it's pretty far, so it might take us until nightfall to get there"

"Is that bad?" Chiaki asked.

"No" Hajime shook his head," it means we'll get to see the stars again"

"Stars?" Chiaki asked

"Yeah, those shining things in the night sky" Hajime said," those are stars"

"I see" Chiaki said.

"They're really beautiful" Hajime said," sometimes I wish I hold hold them in my hands".

Chiaki stared at Hajime who looked so passionate.

"Sorry, I got a little carried away" Hajime said," that was just a desire I had when I was little, so it's pretty silly".

"I don't think it's silly" Chiaki said.

"Why?" Hajime asked.

"Because it is your wish and no one elses" Chiaki said.

"Thank you" Hajime smiled.

...

By the time they reached the world of crystal, the sun had set and revealed the stars. Natsumi was still recovering and sleeping.

"What should we do about natsumi?" Chiaki asked

"We'all just leave her here and get that heart fragment as fast as possible" Hajime said," is that okay?"

"I guess" Chiaki said as she looked at natsumi," I want her to get better as soon as possible".

"Why?" Hajime asked.

"I liked her company" Chiaki said.

"Don't worry, natsumi is a tough girl so I'm sure she'll wake up" Hajime reassured," let's go"

"Okay" Chiaki nodded

...

Sure enough the world of crystal was full of crystals as far as the eye could see. All sorts of precious stones, varying in size and shape, decorated and made up the landscape. Even the very ground was made out of crystals.

"What do you think of this place?" Hajime asked.

"It's beautiful...I think" Chiaki said.

"Yeah, it sure is nice" Hajime said.

"What would natsumi think if she saw this place?" Chiaki said.

"I don't know" Hajime said," why don't we bring some crystals back as a souvenir for her"

"What's a souvenir?" Chiaki asked.

"It's an item you get so you can remember when you went somewhere" Hajime explained.

"Then, I want to bring back a souvenir for natsumi" Chiaki said.

"Okay then, if you see any stones that natsumi might want just grab them" Hajime said," last I checked, the crystals here can grow and replenish themselves like plants"

"Okay" Chiaki nodded as she started to keep an eye out for crystals.

...

Hajime and chiaki walked aimlessly through the crystal landscape until they stopped at a small waterfall. The pool of water was of course crystal clear to the point that it reflected things as clear as a mirror. Hajime couldn't help but stare at Chiaki as she looked into the water.

"You could dip your legs in the water if you want" Hajime offered.

"Okay" Chiaki nodded before taking off her shoes and stockings.

Chiaki dipped her feet in first only to shiver a bit. She continued to push her legs into the water and get use to it's temperature. After both her legs were in the water, Chiaki felt the urge to softly kick them around in the water.

"How does it feel?" Hajime asked.

"I like it" Chiaki said," why don't you try?"

"I'm okay" Hajime said.

...

Once chiaki dried off and put her stockings and shoes on, her and Hajime resumed their search for the heart fragment. Their search led them to a forest of crystal trees.

"It looks like there's a giant tree in the center of the forest" Hajime said as he looked over the trees.

"That must be where the heart fragment is...right?" Chiaki asked.

"Yeah, so let's get going" Hajime said.

...

Chiaki and Hajime walked through the crystal forest until they came into a clearing. There they heard a sound of something charging towards them. Chiaki and Hajime stood off to sides and avoided the beast that charged into the clearing. Sure enough it was another hopeless. This time it was a black dog hopeless with white spots, long fur, and a purple heart insignia on its chest. Chiaki summoned her keyblade while Hajime stayed still. The dog hopeless growled and snapped at Chiaki as it bared its fangs. Normally Chiaki could fight without hesitation, but now she felt different. She felt a force from deep inside her freeze her in place. Helpless, Chiaki stared into the red eyes of the dog hopeless.

"Chiaki you have to fight" Hajime said.

Chiaki shook her head as she realized her keyblade had vanished. She felt compelled to reach out to the dog hopeless. The dog hopeless barked and growled at the hand coming towards it, yet didn't move from where it was. Chiaki placed her hand on the side of the dog hopelesses face.

"I'm sorry this happened to you" Chiaki spoke," you didn't deserve to suffer and lose hope"

The dog hopeless stood frozen by chiakis words.

"Please let me help you" Chiaki spoke," that's what Nanami would want"

Chiaki placed her hand on the heart insignia without any resistance from the dog hopeless. Hajime watched in amazement as the dog hopeless devolved into shadow. Chiaki summoned her keyblade in time to absorb one of the freed hearts.

"We can go now" Chiaki said.

"Sure" Hajime said as he walked to chiakis side," are you okay?"

"I'm fine" Chiaki said as she and Hajime walked forward.

...

At the heart of the crystal forest was a giant crystal tree. Carved into the trunk was a shrine made of pure blue crystal. The heart fragment lied on the alter and illuminated the surrounding crystals.

"Hajime can I ask you something before I faint?" Chiaki asked.

"What is it?" Hajime asked.

"Why didn't you use your keyblade if you had one?" Chiaki asked.

"I don't deserve it" Hajime said.

"But you're so kind" Chiaki said.

"I'm sorry but I can't really talk about it" Hajime said.

"Okay" Chiaki nodded.

Chiaki reached out her hand and scooped up the heart fragment. The heart fragment shined brighter yet softer than any of the crystals Chiaki saw. She accepted the heart fragment and fainted.

...

'Lady Nanami, I'm back'

"Mikan, you know you don't have to call me lady"

'I'm sorry...please forgive me'

"I'll always forgive you. How was your trip"

'I scouted a world made of crystals'

"Really? That's so cool"

'I actually brought you some crystals from my journey'

"They're all so beautiful. Thank you Mikan"

'I'm glad I could make you smile'

"Is it okay if I share these with the others?"

'You can use them however you like'

"Thank you Mikan"

...

Hajime carried Chiaki back to the ship like he always did. Dark thoughts plagued his mind as he looked at chiakis unconscious face. When he spotted the docks he saw natsumi waiting for him on the ship.

"Nice to see ya, bastard" natsumi said.

Hajime looked up to natsumi and tried to force a smile before he entered the ship.


	13. World of Mist

Once Chiaki was tucked into her hammock, Hajime started making breakfast for natsumi. Natsumi stared at Hajime with intense eyes.

"So...are you feeling better?" Hajime asked.

"It's been an eye opening experience" natsumi said," but I'm not sure if it makes my journey easier or harder"

"Is it about the-" Hajime tried to say only for natsumi to interrupt him.

"It's about Chiaki" natsumi said," I want to know what will happen when nanamis heart is restored"

"I...don't know" Hajime said.

"LIAR!" Natsumi yelled," tell me the truth"

"I don't know what you're talking about" Hajime said.

As soon as he said that, Natsumi slapped him across the face.

"Tell me the truth or I'll slap you again" natsumi said in rage.

"Do you want the truth?" Hajime asked.

"Yes, now tell me!" Natsumi demanded.

"Fine, I'll tell you" Hajime sighed," if nanamis heart is fully restored then it is likely that chiaki will disappear"

Natsumi could barely contain the anger within herself after hearing the truth.

"Bastard" natsumi said as tears formed in her eyes," why...why does it have to be like this?"

"We can't afford to let nanamis pure heart remain shattered" Hajime said.

"Shut up with your damn excuses" natsumi said," you're essentially killing her"

"I'm aware of what I'm doing" Hajime said," but I don't have a choice"

"You're full of shit" natsumi said," What happened to make you do this?"

"I became a nobody" Hajime said.

"What?" Natsumi asked.

"I said I became a nobody" Hajime spoke louder.

"How?" Natsumi asked.

"I'm sorry, but I need to sleep" Hajime said," I promise I'll tell you"

"Fine" natsumi said.

"If Chiaki wakes up before me, please don't tell her about what we discussed" Hajime said," for chiakis sake"

"Sure" natsumi sighed.

...

As Hajime slept he dreamed of his past. The truth was, the reserve knights was a failure as shown by the countless reserve knights that turned into hopeless. So many lives were lost in that stupid project. At least Hajime had a friend amongst all those pitiful souls.

"Hey chin up" natsumi would always say," the royal family doesn't recruit sad slugs"

Some days he could get by, but the royal castle always seemed to overshadow the reserve knights building. A few times, he had been brave enough to sneak a look into the royal garden and spot princess Nanami tending the flowers. Nanami was always so radiant and soft like the moon. Sure Hajime only met her once, but ever since that encounter she had remained in his heart. A lot of people loved Nanami for how beautiful she was, but Hajime loved her most for her beautiful heart. He wished so desperately to become her knight, but destiny was not his ally.

"I'm sorry, but you're heart is too weak to become a knight" Tengan said.

"Is there anything I can do?" Hajime asked.

"There isn't" Tengan said," just live your life and forget about becoming a knight"

"But I have to become a knight" Hajime said.

"You shouldn't fear normalcy" Tengan said.

Maybe he should have listened to Tengans advice, but what else could he do? He wasn't talented or special, so would he just live like an ordinary person. Just when he was about to give up, he remembered her words.

"If I believe it, it will come true" Hajime said to himself," then I have to believe I can become a knight".

What a foolish idea.

...

Chiaki yawned as she opened her eyes to see natsumi looking rather sad.

"Is something wrong" Chiaki asked.

"Oh Chiaki you're awake" natsumi said," I was just worried for you"

"Where's Hajime?" Chiaki asked.

"He's taking a nap" natsumi said.

"Are you feeling better?" Chiaki asked.

"Yeah, I just have some things to think about" natsumi said," here, why don't you have some breakfast"

"Okay" Chiaki nodded.

As chiaki ate, natsumi couldn't help looking at her.

"I'm sorry about what happened to your brother" Chiaki said," but I think we'll find a way to fix it"

"Thanks Chiaki" natsumi said," but do you think collecting the heart fragments will fix things"

"Based on what I know, a lot of people loved Nanami, including your brother" Chiaki said," if she returns then she'll know what to do...I think. Why do you ask?"

"Like I said, there's a lot of stuff on my mind" natsumi said.

"If you need to talk I'm here" Chiaki said.

"Thanks. I think I can work this out on my own" natsumi said.

"Okay" Chiaki nodded.

...

Eventually Hajime woke up, however he was in a bit of a cold sweat.

"Hajime you're awake" Chiaki said.

"I'm glad to see you're awake as well" Hajime said.

Hajime looked towards natsumi only for her to look away from him.

"Hey Chiaki, could you locate the next heart fragment, please?" Hajime asked, causing natsumi to bite her lip.

"I can do that" Chiaki said as she summoned her keyblade and located the next heart fragment.

"Lets see, the next world is the world of fog" Hajime explained after looking at the map.

"What's fog?" Chiaki asked.

"It's like the clouds, but on the ground" Hajime explained," so it'll be hard to see when we get there".

"I could use my fire to light the way" Chiaki offered.

"That's a great idea" Hajime said," I'll set the sails"

...

As soon as they got in range of the destined world, they were surrounded by fog. Chiaki tried blowing the fog away with a gust of wind from her keyblade. However, as soon as the fog dispersed, new fog came and took its place.

"Try using fire" Hajime suggested.

Chiaki summoned forth her a few fireballs to lighten the way to the nearest dock. Fortunately, they were able to dock safely. Using an old fashioned lamp, Hajime captured one of chiakis flames in it and created a transportable light.

"It's still really foggy" Hajime said as he pulled out some rope," so just to be safe, let's tie rope to each other so we can't get separated".

"Sure whatever" natsumi said before tying a length of rope around her waist.

"That makes sense" Chiaki said before grabbing a piece of rope and just wrapping it around her waist.

"Here, I'll show you how to tie it" natsumi said.

"Are you sure?" Chiaki asked.

"Yeah, peko taught me a great trick for tying knots, so I'll show you" natsumi explained.

Once everyone was set, the trio entered the foggy island.

...

The world of fog was very difficult to see, but they could find a few things. Dead black trees littered the land and looked like broken human figures from a distance. Even though the sun was shining, the fog remained thick and unyielding to clarity. Due to the lack of light, no blade of grass grew.

As chiaki walked she couldn't help but notice some sort of unspoken feeling between Hajime and natsumi, but she didn't know how to define it. They walked until they saw a faint light in the distance. At first it seemed to be a heart fragment, but then the light started rushing towards them. Chiaki and the others jumped out of the oncoming lights way. Soon enough the light came to them, revealing it to be the glowing horn of a unicorn hopeless. Despite its unicorn biology, the hopeless had the monotone patterns of a zebra. A purple heart insignia rested on the unicorn hopelesses fore head above its crimson eyes.

The unicorn hopelesses horn brightened the area allowing the trio to untie themselves and prepared to fight. Natsumi was ready to toss her spear right into the unicorn hopeless, but Chiaki stepped forward without any sign of hostility. Chiaki reached out her hand to the unicorn hopeless only for it to kick its head and raise its front legs. Before the unicorn hopeless could trample Chiaki, Hajime pushed her out of the way.

"I don't think that's going to work" Hajime said.

"I have to get closer..I think" Chiaki said.

"Natsumis got your back" natsumi said as she lassoed the rope she had.

Natsumi tossed the rope around the unicorn hopelesses neck and pulled it to the ground. The unicorn retaliated by kicking its legs and creating shards of ice. Using his keyblade, Hajime summoned a force field to protect him and chiaki while natsumi spun her spear around to shatter the ice. Once the small blizzard of ice shards passed, Hajime used the remaining rope tie down the unicorn hopelesses back legs. With the unicorn hopeless incapacitated, Chiaki was able to reach her hand out to it.

"Please, don't panic" Chiaki said as she laid a hand onto the unicorn hopelesses face," I want to help you".

Chiaki stroked the unicorn hopelesses forehead as she stared into its red eyes full of despair. As she did, a bright soothing light emanated from the heart insignia. The unicorn hopeless devolved into shadow, freeing the hearts inside. Among the freed hearts, one heart rose above the others and entered chiakis keyblade.

"Thank you for helping me" Chiaki said.

"Sure" natsumi said," but how did you know to do that?"

"I don't know" Chiaki said," it just came to me"

"We should probably get the heart fragment before it gets dark" Hajime said.

"Okay" Chiaki nodded while natsumi stayed silent.

Together the trio walked through the fog until they spotted a soft light in the distance. When they reached the light it was shinning in the hollow trunk of a big dead tree. Chiaki grasped the the heart fragment and held it up to her chest. It's light glowed so softly and warm in her hands as she accepted it.

...

"Guess what guys? I made you some charms for when you travel"

Cool they look like stars.

"Yep, Mikan supplied the crystals so I fixed them to look like stars for you all"

They shine so beautifully just like the stars they are based on.

"I'm glad you like them, because I want you to hold onto them as a symbol of our friendship that glows as uniquely as a star"

You are too kind for words.

"I love you all so much for being there for me"

Don't worry we'll always be by your side.

"Thank you everyone"

...

Back on the ship, Hajime tucked Chiaki into her hammock. All the while, natsumi glared at him. Hajime responded by pulling up a chair.

"Now I'll tell you how I became a nobody" Hajime said


	14. World of Hybrids

"It started with an offer" Hajime said as he began his story.

...

...

Hajime was walking to training as always when a man with black hair approached him.

"How would you like to become the strongest knight in all the worlds?" The man asked.

"I'm sorry, are you asking me?" Hajime asked.

"My name is Matsuda and you are Hajime hinata" the man said," right?"

"Yeah, but why do you care?" Hajime asked," I'm a reserve knight"

"I am looking for an empty shell" Matsuda said," if you accept my offer, I can fill you with more power and talent than any knight in existence".

"You're joking, right?" Hajime asked," this is just some cruel prank from the knights".

"I assure you, this is no joke" Matsuda said," it is as real as you and me"

"Fine, I'll play along" Hajime said," it's not like I'll learn anything at training today".

"Then come with me and I will show you a greater future" Matsuda said.

...

Hajime followed Matsuda to a dark isolated lab. There Matsuda pulled up a chalkboard.

"Now you know every living creature exist with a heart" Matsuda said as he drew a stick figure and a heart," it is often believed that the heart is what gives the body its strength, however in this project we will reverse the flow of strength to make your heart stronger"

"But I'm already training as much as I can" Hajime said.

"In that environment full of despair and darkness?" Matsuda asked," you'd sooner turn into a hopeless"

"What's your idea to make my heart stronger?" Hajime asked.

"By temporarily disconnecting the heart from the body, we will fill the hollow body with strength and talent" Matsuda explained," then we simply put the heart back and let the body's strength transfer to it"

"Sounds like it's going to hurt" Hajime said.

"You won't feel a thing" Matsuda said," rather you will be unconscious before and after the project"

"What will happen to my heart though?" Hajime asked.

"It will be put to sleep and isolated until the project is completed" Matsuda said," now would you like to participate in this project?"

"Give me sometime to think about it" Hajime said.

"Very well, however you are not allowed to speak of this project to anyone" Matsuda said.

"Fine" Hajime said.

...

...

"Did you seriously believe that crap?" natsumi asked.

"I was desperate" Hajime said.

"You could have talked to me" natsumi said.

"I know and I was stupid for not" Hajime said," but I just wanted to be her knight so badly".

"I wanted to be a knight along with my brother, so I get it" natsumi said before sighing," but knowing how stupid and insecure I was back then, I probably would've joined the project had they offered it to me"

"Natsumi, I'm sorry" Hajime said.

"So how did they take your heart?" Natsumi said.

"From what I remember, Matsuda took my heart by using a keyblade he had" Hajime said.

"Did your nobody disappear when you got your heart back?" Natsumi asked.

"My nobody is unlike any others due to his strength and talent" Hajime said," that or my heart is to weak to get rid of him"

"But if your nobody can stay doesn't that mean Chiaki can stay as well?" Natsumi asked.

"Izuru only exists when my heart is removed" Hajime said.

"So? Chiaki can do the same" natsumi said.

"Not when she is the nobody of a pure hearted person" Hajime said," people love and depend on Nanami because she is next in line to rule over the worlds"

Natsumi held her tongue as she looked at Hajime with hardened eyes.

"Damn it" natsumi almost cried out.

"I'm sorry" Hajime said as he tried to comfort natsumi with a hug.

"Just leave me alone" natsumi said as she weakly tried to push him away.

"We both make stupid decisions when we're alone" Hajime said as he held her.

"You're still as blunt as ever" natsumi faintly laughed as she nestled her head in Hajimes chest.

...

Chiaki woke up to the sound of natsumi and Hajime laughing. She turned her head and carefully slipped out of her hammock.

" oh hey Chiaki, glad to see your up and moving just fine" natsumi said.

"You two seem to be doing better too" Chiaki said.

"What do you mean?" Hajime asked.

"Before, there seemed to be something dividing you two" Chiaki said," tension...I think is what it's called".

"I think you were just imagining things" Hajime lied," why don't you locate the next heart fragment and then get something to eat"

"Okay" Chiaki nodded

Chiaki summoned her keyblade and located the next heart fragment just as Hajime was looking through his map.

"The world of hybrids" Hajime said.

"Sounds exotic" natsumi said.

"What's a hybrid?" Chiaki asked.

"It's an animal mixed with two other animals" Hajime explained.

"Twice the unpredictability" Chiaki shivered.

"Don't worry, if any of those freaky creatures get too close, I'll make them runaway with their tails between their legs" natsumi said," assuming they have tails or legs that is"

"Thank you natsumi" Chiaki said.

"Anytime" natsumi smiled proudly.

...

They reached the world of hybrids in a timely manner. From the look of it, the world didn't seem too unusual. It even reminded Chiaki of the jungle world and the world of beast.

"Do you think we'll transform like in that world of beast" natsumi asked.

"No, there's no forcefield" Hajime said.

"If we did transform I bet I'd be a griffon and you'd be a platypus" natsumi joked.

"Why am I a platypus?" Hajime asked.

"Cause you're both just so cute" natsumi joked.

"I've never heard of a platypus" Chiaki said," what is it?"

"No one really knows" natsumi said.

...

The trio entered the jungle to hear not a single animal make a sound.

"Well, looks like we won't have to deal with any rowdy hybrids" natsumi said.

"we'll probably have to deal with a hopeless" Hajime said," we just need to find it"

Just then a nearby bush started to rustle.

"Looks like we found it" natsumi said as readied her spear to fight.

"Stand back Chiaki" Hajime said as he too prepared his weapon to fight.

However, what appeared from the bush was not a hopeless at all. It was the polar opposite as it hopped out and twitched its nose.

"A...bunny?" Natsumi asked in disbelief.

"A rabbit mixed with bird" Hajime said as he looked at the rabbits bird wing ears.

"Will it hurt us?" Chiaki asked.

"No, rabbits are pretty harmless" Hajime said.

"Tell that to my brother who got bite by one" natsumi said.

The rabbit extended its large wing ears and started to fly before flying past natsumi and Hajime to land on chiakis shoulder. Chiaki shivered as the strange creature sniffed her face.

"It's okay" Hajime said," its just trying to learn who you are"

The rabbit proceeded to lick chiakis chiaki before curling up on her shoulder.

"Looks like it likes you" natsumi said," peko would be jealous".

"What should I do?" Chiaki asked.

"It seems to be docile towards you so you can pet it if you want" Hajime said.

Chiaki raised her hand and let the rabbit sniff it before stroking the rabbits back. The rabbit returned the gesture by rubbing its head against chiakis neck.

"As much as this scene is adorable, we should probably get moving" natsumi said.

"What about the rabbit?" Chiaki asked.

"You can bring it" Hajime said.

Chiaki nodded before following natsumi and Hajime.

...

As the three traversed the jungle, they came into an open field. There the rabbit started to thump its tail.

"What's wrong with bun bun?" Natsumi asked.

"Looks like its nervous" Hajime said.

Just then a a loud roar echoed on the wind. The roar was followed by the appearance of a manticore hopeless. It had the body and head of a lioness, fangs of a saber tooth tiger, wings of a bat, and a scorpions tail. The manticore hopeless stood on its hind legs like a bear, revealing its claws and red heart insignia.

"How the hell are we supposed to restrain that?" Natsumi asked.

"If we stay on our guard and just protect from its attacks we can wait till it has no energy left" Hajime said.

The manticore hopeless raised and lunged its tail at Hajime in response only for natsumi to shield the attack with her spear. Angered, the manticore hopeless raised its paw and swatted natsumi and Hajime away. It was about to attack Chiaki when the rabbit caught its attention. The rabbit hopped off of chiakis shoulder and onto the manticore hopelesses paw.

When the manticore tried to catch the rabbit with its other paw, the rabbit hopped out of the way. Again the manticore hopeless tried to catch the rabbit only for it to simply hop out of the way. The manticore hopeless used its teeth, tail, and claws, but the rabbit still dodged them with ease. Finally the manticore raised its paw to claw the rabbit only to grow weak and fall over from exhaustion. Seeing the manticore hopeless panting and tired, Chiaki took her chance and walked up to the fallen beast. Laying a delicate hand on the heart insignia, Chiaki stared into the manticore hopelesses red eyes.

"You must be tired of being a hopeless" Chiaki said as she stroked its chest," don't worry, I'll find a way to return you to your original form so you can be with Nanami and all your friends".

The manticore hopeless purred softly before devolving into shadow. Chiaki raised her keyblade and absorbed one of the freed hearts. She looked down at the rabbit as it panted a bit, before scooping it up into her arms.

"Thank you for helping us" Chiaki said as she stroked the rabbit behind the head.

"I can't believe Fluff ball here saved us" natsumi said.

"Guess we better work on our reflexes" Hajime said.

Once chiaki finished petting the rabbit, it stretched out its wings and flew away.

"So much for goodbye" natsumi said.

"It's probably flying back to its burrow or nest" Hajime said," maybe it's going to find its friends"

Just as soon as the rabbit flew away, it came back holding a heart fragment in its paws. The rabbit landed on chiakis shoulder and nuzzled its nose against her face.

"How did it know we were looking for that?" Natsumi asked.

"Probably because it recognized her scent" Hajime explained.

"Thank you rabbit" Chiaki said as she took the heart fragment.

"Maybe we could keep it as a mascot" natsumi said.

"No, we should let it stay in its home now that it's free from the hopeless" Hajime said.

"That's a good idea...I think" Chiaki said," goodbye rabbit"

The rabbit gave chiaki one last lick before flying away for good this time. Chiaki held the heart fragment and accepted it before fainting.

...

'Nanami, I have a gift for you'

"A rabbit"

'That's right, I figured she could keep you company'

"Her fur is so soft and white"

'It seems she's taking a liking to you as well'

"I love her so much. Thank you mama"

'We've prepared everything she needs to live here, but she needs a name'

"Then I'll call her usami"

...

As Hajime and natsumi boarded the boat, something watched them in the distance. Hajime turned his head to see a figure in a black hooded cloak watching him.

"Hey what's up?" Natsumi asked causing Hajime to look at her.

"I though I saw something" Hajime said.

"It was probably a hybrid" natsumi said.

"Yeah" Hajime agreed as he looked to see that the mysterious figure had disappeared," I think you're right".


	15. The World of Seasons

Chiaki woke to the smell of fish udon being freshly prepared as well as Hajime complaining about the smell.

"How can you stand that smell?" Hajime asked.

"I've smelled worse things when my brother tried to cook" natsumi said.

"It smells nice...I think" Chiaki said.

"Thank you Chiaki" natsumi smiled.

"Fine" Hajime sighed.

Natsumi prepared two bowls of fish udon for her and chiaki, while Hajime stuck to eating mochi. As chiaki ate she remembered something Ashe had to do.

"I have to get something" Chiaki said before getting up and going to her hammock.

"What is it?" Natsumi asked once chiaki came back with her hands behind her back.

"I made these for you two" Chiaki said as she lifted up two charms made of crystals.

"Aww Chiaki" natsumi said as chiaki handed her an orange charm.

"I wanted to show my...I think it was gratitude" Chiaki said as she handed Hajime a green charm.

Each charm was made of six crystals that were put together to look like a star.

"I don't know what to say except thank you" Hajime said," I'll keep it with me forever".

"This will go great alongside my tiger charm" natsumi said.

"I'm happy that you like them...I think" Chiaki said causing Hajimes smile to waver a bit.

"Aww Chiaki you're so sweet" natsumi said.

"We should locate the next heart fragment" Hajime said

"Okay" Chiaki nodded while natsumi gave Hajime a glare.

Once chiaki aimed her keyblade, Hajime looked at the map.

"The world of seasons" Hajime said.

"How does that work?" Natsumi asked.

"It's probably a world made up of the four different seasons" Hajime said.

"Hope we get to walk through the summer part" natsumi said," oh, Chiaki, you probably don't know what seasons are"

"Yes, I'd like to know" Chiaki said.

"Well, seasons are periods of time where certain things happen" natsumi explained," for example, cherry blossoms bloom in spring and leaves fall in autumn".

"Cherry blossom?" Chiaki asked.

"They're like regular trees, but in spring their leaves turn pink" natsumi said.

"That's sounds interesting" Chiaki said," is like to see a cherry blossom"

"I promise we'll find one in the world of seasons" natsumi said.

...

The ship sailed smoothly until it reached the world of seasons. From the outskirts, the world of seasons looked more like the world of winter. Hajime docked the boat and the trio entered the winter forest.

"Winter's not that bad" natsumi said.

"It's still pretty cold" Chiaki said.

"Yeah, but that's when you cuddle with someone close for warmth" natsumi said.

"Sounds scary" Chiaki said.

"Here" natsumi said as she wrapped her arm around Chiaki," it's not that bad".

Chiaki flinched at the moment of contact and was a bit reserved to touch natsumi back, however her longing for warmth led her to hug natsumi back. Natsumi was as warm as her fiery personality and chiaki could even hear natsumis heart beat. Chiaki herself was rather cold, but still very soft like a peach. As Natsumi held Chiaki close, she noticed Chiaki had a faint heart beat. While the two girls cuddled for warmth, Hajime looked at big animal prints in the snow.

"Looks like we found the hopeless" Hajime said," if we follow these tracks and find the hopeless, that should lead us to the heart fragment".

"Looks like a wolf hopeless" Natsumi said as she looked at the tracks," let's catch this sucker"

Following the tracks, the trio journeyed to a frozen lake. They crossed a bridge to reach an island with a big tree in the center of the lake. Lying under the dead tree in a patch of four leaf clovers was the hopeless the were tracking. Rather then being a wolf hopeless, as they had expected, it was a four tailed fox hopeless. The fox hopeless was white with black legs and tail tips. It's face and heart insignia were hidden behind a monotone fox mask with crimson eyes bleeding through. As soon as chiaki approached the fox hopeless, it raised its head and stared at her before getting up. Chiaki approached the fox hopeless only for it to leap over her and face Hajime and natsumi. The fox hopeless swished its four tails as it stared at Hajime and natsumi still on the bridge. Out of nowhere, a powerful bolt of lightning pierced through the sky and destroyed the bridge and cutting Chiaki off from the others. With the bridge destroyed, the fox hopeless turned to chiaki and bowed to her.

"Excuse me, but why did you do that?" Chiaki asked.

The fox hopeless responded by wrapping its body and tails around Chiaki. Chiaki felt the soft curly fur against her, but also the coldness of the hopeless.

"You must miss Nanami" Chiaki said," I'm sorry you had to lose her".

The fox hopeless responded by pushing its nose against her.

"I promise you'll see her again" Chiaki said as she reached for the mask," please let me help you"

The fox hopeless backed its head away until deciding to move it forward to her. Chiaki delicately took off the mask to reveal the fox hopelesses wounded face full of scars. She looked into the fox hopelesses red eyes and could sense the unending sorrow it felt.

"It's okay" Chiaki said as she pressed her forehead against the green heart insignia on the fox hopelesses forehead," I'm going to help you".

The fox hopeless shed a tear before devolving into shadow. Chiaki caught one of the freed hearts in her keyblade as she looked to her comrades on the other side of the lake. Out of nowhere rain started to fall as the sun shined brightly. Following the rain, the surrounding environment rapidly changed from winter to spring. Ice and snow melted revealing the grass and plants. The tree that once looked dead now grew bright with life and pink petals. With no other choice, natsumi and Hajime swam across the lake to the island.

"Looks like a kitsune wedding and a change in season" natsumi said.

"What's a kitsune wedding?" Hajime asked.

"They say that when rain falls while the sun shines that's when foxes get married" natsumi said.

"Is this a cherry blossom?" Chiaki said as she held out a fallen pink leaf.

"Yep" natsumi nodded.

"It's so beautiful" Chiaki said as she looked at the falling pink leaves.

For a while the trio just stood in the light rain and shower of pink leaves, until something shiny descended with the leaves. A heart fragment delicately floated down into chiakis hands and radiated its soft light. Chiaki accepted the heart fragment without hesitation and fainted.

...

'It's time I taught you a very special power'

"What is it mama?"

'The power to synchronize hearts'

"That sounds so cool"

'Yes, and only you can do it'

"Because I have a pure heart?"

'Exactly'

"Then I'm ready to learn"

'I love your enthusiasm'

...

While natsumi tucked Chiaki into her hammock, Hajime looked back to the world of seasons to see that same hooded figure in the distance. The hooded figure watched Hajime until he left to tend to chiaki.

"What were you staring at?" Natsumi asked.

"I was just admiring the scenery" Hajime said.


	16. World of Mythical Beast

While Hajime checked the sails, natsumi collected a few of chiakis crystals and started fiddling with them. Hajime took notice and gave her some string.

"Thanks" natsumi said.

"I figured you would need it for what you're making" Hajime said.

"I hope she likes it" natsumi said.

"You know she'll love anything you give her" Hajime said," why else would she like your fish udon"

"Remember who you're talking to" natsumi said as she pinched a pressure point on Hajimes side.

"Okay, uncle" Hajime said as he winced in pain.

"Do you think it's possible that chiaki will remember us?" Natsumi asked.

"I don't know" Hajime said.

"Then if you don't know that means there's a chance" natsumi smiled.

"Yeah" Hajime said.

...

Two days passed before Chiaki awoke from her slumber. When she rose from her sleep, natsumi instantly hugged her.

"God, I thought you'd never wake up" natsumi said," what took you so long?"

"I don't know" Chiaki said.

"Well we're glad you're awake now" Hajime said.

"I wonder why I sleep so much" Chiaki said.

"You're probably just tired from fighting" Hajime suggested.

"That could be it" Chiaki said.

"Here, why don't you locate the next world and then we can have lunch" Hajime said.

"Alright" Chiaki nodded.

As always, Chiaki located the direction of the next heart fragment followed by Hajime looking up world they were going to"

"The world of mythical beast" Hajime announced," that's where we're headed"

"Mythical beast?" Natsumi asked," as in unicorns, three headed dogs, and two tailed cats?"

"Yep" Hajime said.

"They sound scary" Chiaki said.

"Don't worry, we'll protect you" natsumi proclaimed.

"Thanks natsumi" Chiaki said.

"Don't thank me yet" natsumi said as she pulled out a gift for Chiaki," I need to give you this"

"Is this a star charm?" Chiaki asked as natsumi placed a charm made of pink crystals into her hands.

"Yep, I made it out of your crystals" natsumi said," is that okay?"

"Of course" Chiaki smiled as she held the charm to her chest," I love it"

Natsumi and Hajime looked in surprise at Chiaki, who was still smiling.

"Chiaki did you just say you loved it?" Natsumi asked.

"Yeah" Chiaki nodded," is that wrong?"

"No, it's just you've never used that word or smiled before" Hajime said.

"I guess it just came to me" Chiaki said," when I received natsumis gift I just felt the urge to smile and say I loved it"

"That's good to hear" natsumi said," right Hajime?"

"Yeah" Hajime said.

...

The trio arrived at the world of mythical beast to see it was full of mountains and thorned vines.

"Is this world supposed to be covered in vines?" Natsumi asked.

"I don't think so" Hajime said," it's probably a hopelesses doing"

"We better stay on our guard" natsumi said.

"Agreed" Chiaki nodded.

Hajime docked the boat before the trio entered the world. While natsumi prepared her spear, Chiaki put her charm around her neck and let if fall over her chest. Fortunately Natsumis spear was strong enough to cut through the vines and path a trail. As they walked through the path of cut vines, they noticed the lack of mythical beast roaming around.

"This hopeless must be pretty powerful if it can create all these vines" natsumi said.

"It could be a stag hopeless" Hajime said.

"Wait, how many hopeless have you defeated so far?" Natsumi asked.

"Fourteen" Hajime said.

"And how many knights did Nanami have?" Natsumi asked.

"Fourteen" Hajime said.

"Then whose hopeless are we facing?" Natsumi asked.

"I don't know" Hajime said.

"Whoever it is, we should still try to defeat them as peacefully as possible" Chiaki said.

Just as chiaki said that, two roars echoed across the sky.

"That doesn't sound like a stag" natsumi said.

The trio continued onward until they reached the bottom of the highest mountain. Natsumi took that moment to drop her spear and rest from cutting vines.

"Looks like we're scaling a mountain" Hajime said.

"Give me a break" natsumi huffed.

"Fine" Hajime said," but make it quick"

"Don't rush me when I'm tired" natsumi growled.

"Do you think the hopeless is at the top?" Chiaki asked.

"It's possible" Hajime said.

Out of the blue, a large object flew down from the mountain and landed before the trio revealing it to be a two headed dragon with silver and gold heart insignias on its chest. The two headed dragon hopeless looked down at the trio before extending one of its legs and digging it into the ground. Following this, fresh vines sprouted from the ground and blocked any hope of escape.

"So you're the one or two who made all those vines" natsumi said," do you know how hard it was to cut them down?". The dragon hopeless ignored natsumi as both heads yawned.

"Hey, I'm talking to you" natsumi shouted as she waved her spear at the dragon hopeless.

The dragon hopeless turned one of its heads to natsumi before swating her away with its tail. Natsumi just barely missed hitting a thorn as she hit it with her spear. The other dragons head lowered its head down to chiaki before sniffing her.

"We mean you no harm, so could I please see your chest?" Chiaki asked.

The dragon hopeless was about to expose its heart insignia when one of the dragon heads spotted Hajime. Soon after, the dragon hopeless bared its teeth and growled. It was about to burn Hajime with its fiery breath when something cut through the air and sliced off the dragon hopelesses heads. The dragon hopeless devolved into shadow releasing several hearts. Chiaki caught two of the hearts in her keyblade as the thorns disintegrated.

"What the hell was that thing?" Natsumi asked.

"Probably a native mythical creature" Hajime said," lets get moving"

As soon as Hajime said that, a heart fragment descended from above like a snowflake. Chiaki caught it in her hands and looked at it curiously.

"Why would it fall from the sky?" Chiaki asked.

"Guess something didn't want us to walk all the way up there" natsumi said.

"You're right" Chiaki nodded and smiled," i'll see you when I wake up"

Chiaki accepted the heart fragment and fainted into Hajimes arms.

"Just one more fragment and then we can fix this hopeless mess" natsumi said.

"I'm sorry" hajime said.

Before natsumi could respond someone knocked her on the back of the head and caused her to faint. That someone was the same figure in the black cloak, but now they held a golden keyblade.

"You sure took you're sweet time" the hooded figure said in a feminine voice,"why Junko was about to have me steal your heart and let Izuru take over.

Hajime remained silent as the figure removed their hood to reveal them as Chisa yukizomes nobody.

"Now let's put an end to this" chisas nobody said as she opened a dark portal," Junko is waiting"


	17. World of Despair

"I don't understand. What happened to usami? Why won't she wake up?"

'She died, sweetie. Her heart has gone to kingdom hearts'

"Kingdom hearts?"

'It is a place that only reveals itself to departed hearts and offers eternal salvation'

"I guess that isn't so bad, but when will usami come back?"

'I'm afraid to say that no hearts return from kingdom hearts'

"Then I'll never see usami again."

'No, you will meet her again in the future. I just hope you continue to live as long as possible'

"Will you go to kingdom hearts one day?"

'Yes, but that won't be for a long time'

"Promise?"

'I promise'

...

When natsumi woke up, she found herself in a castle dungeon.

"Oh hell no" natsumi said as she looked around her cell like a tiger in a cage.

Once natsumi surveyed her surroundings she concluded that she was alone, without her spear, and most likely in a castle dungeon. She was about to start looking for an escape when she heard a voice that sent shivers down her spine.

"Upupupu" Junko laughed as she walked on the outside of the dungeon," looks like you're up and rightfully pissed"

"Where are Hajime and chiaki and who the hell are you?" Natsumi asked clearly enraged.

"Relax, they're safeish" Junko said," as for me, well I'm Junko enoshima, the master of all hopeless"

"You're the one that turned my brother into a hopeless and forced Nanami to shatter her heart!" Natsumi said.

"Hey now, it's not solely my fault" Junko said," besides, don't you wanna know why your friend Hajime hinata would betray you?"

"What kind of bullshit are you spewing?" Natsumi asked.

"I see, you're still processing what's going on" Junko said," so why don't I explain it to you"

Junko snapped her fingers, cueing her sister to run in with a picture book. Mukuro lifted the picture book to reveal an illustrated little figure that looked like Hajime and the title, "The Hopeless Hero".

"I hate exposition dumps as much as the next guy, so I figured I'd make it fun by adding a visual presentation and make it sound like a fairytale" Junko said," what do you think?"

"Sure, why not" natsumi said.

"Excellent, now we can start" Junko said as she cleared her voice and mukuro opened to the little Hajime like figure looking sad and alone.

"Once upon a time there was a commoner who dreamed of becoming a knight. He was so pitifully bland an average that hardly anyone cared to remember him. Making matters worse, was the fact that his heart was plagued with despairing insecurities. The poor soul had nothing to live for aside from his hopeless dream, until he met her"

Mukuro turned the page to reveal the sad hero now happy to be in the presence of another figure that looked like princess Nanami surrounded by a gold aura.

"One day when he decided to ask to become a knight, he met the pure hearted presence. She quickly captured his heart with her kind words and hope filled radiance. In that moment, he vowed to become her knight, but fate had other plans"

"You probably know the middle part since you were in it, I'll just skip to the part you haven't heard" Junko said," besides, repeating plot points is so boring"

Mukuro skipped through a length of pages before revealing the protagonists transformation into a long haired monster.

"You see, in order to fulfill his wish of becoming her knight, the hero had to discard his heart and become a nobody. Ironic since he was already sort of a nobody. However, he couldn't discard his heart on his own, so he received help from a powerful witch"

Mukuro turned the page to show the heroes heart in the clutches of a witch with long red nails.

"The pathetic hero, underestimated the witches intentions and would later pay the price for it. You see, the witch had a way of maximizing the pain and despair in her victims so all she had to do was wait for the right moment"

Mukuro turned the page and revealed the long haired monster hidden and watching the princess water some flowers.

"While the witch waited with the heros sleeping heart, the heros empty shell gravitated towards the castle grounds to see the princess. Why he went Is up to interpretation, but it's possible he felt the same love the hero had for the princess. However, this love transformed into something more fitting for a nobody: intrigue. The heros shell was intrigued to find and witness two pure entities that were polar opposites of each other, yet they never met each other face to face. Imagine this poor nobody finally finding something that moved him, but it was still incomplete."

Mukuro turned the page and showed an illustration of the witch, the heros shell, the hero, and the princess.

"That's when the heroes shell knew he had to see the two polar opposites clash. However, the witch was already ahead of him and had planned a cruel downfall for the princess and the hero. She would gleefully awaken the heros sleeping heart on the condition that he followed her orders. If he disobeyed, the hero would instantly turn into a hopeless. Now the witch wasn't completely unfair as she had planned to give the hero the task to protect and stay with the princess. Had he remembered the witch was a two faced liar that only hungered for despair, the hero probably wouldn't have fallen for his delayed despair. Without any real question or struggle, the hero proceeded with the plan never suspecting his slow punishment"

"That's it for now, but I'm curious to see how this story will end" Junko said as Mukuro closed the book.

"So Hajime was working with you the whole time?" Natsumi asked.

"Any and all relations the fictional characters have to real people is completely on purpose" Junko said.

"I'll take that as a yes, but I want to know what your plan is exactly" natsumi said," if you're the supposed master of hopeless that means you turned my brother and peko into those monsters"

"Sorry, but I'm trying to break my habit of monologging and ruining the twist of my plans" Junko said," but since you asked I'll give you a little clue"

Junko walked up to the cell and pulled natsumi in by the collar.

"Rebirth" Junko whispered into natsumis ears before pushing her away.

"What the hell kind of clue is that?" Natsumi asked.

"Figure it out for yourself blondie" Junko said as she and Mukuro walked away," I'm going to take a well deserved cat nap"

"You bitch!" Natsumi screamed," when I get out I'm going to kill you so painfully you'll wish you were never born!"

Junko ignored natsumis threat and left her alone. Natsumi kicked the bars out of frustration and grounded her teeth. Furiously, Natsumi searched for freedom like a caged tiger. That's when she saw a weak spot in the wall opposite of the bars. With no other choice, natsumi started to dig.

She dug through three feet of weak wall for what felt like an hour till she was finally able to slip into the next room. The room looked like some sort of living quarters with sixteen beds. Before she could fully examine the room, natsumi heard two pairs of footsteps coming her way forcing her to duck under a bed.

"I can't believe you forgot your sword. Some tool you are" a familiar voice said," and of all the days too"

Natsumi recognized the voice instantly as her brothers and, though the other didn't speak, the other person was defiantly peko. She would have rushed out from hiding to see her brother, but she had a sinking feeling that it wasn't him so she stayed still.

"What do you think the paradox Phoenix will even look like?" Fuyuhiko asked," it must be pretty badass considering what it's made of"

Their was only silence as the other didn't respond in the form of words.

"Wait, is someone in here?" Fuyuhiko asked," find them then"

As fast as a whip, peko darted to the bed Natsumi was under and turned it over. Natsumi looked up to see her brother and childhood friend dressed in long black coats and crimson eyes.

"Well if it isn't my bratty sister" fuyuhiko laughed," figures you would escape"

"You're not my brother" natsumi said.

"I'm his nobody, but considering his heart is long gone you might just want to accept me as him" fuyuhiko said.

"As if I'd let a bastard like you replace my brother" natsumi said.

"Oh well, I guess you'll make for a good hopeless" fuyuhiko said before snapping his fingers.

Peko picked up natsumi by the neck with ease while fuyuhiko smiled. Natsumi tried to struggle to no avail as peko and fuyuhiko walked her out of the room and to a large cell. Peko tossed natsumi in without a second thought and slammed the door behind her.

"This ought to be interesting" fuyuhiko said," seeing a hopeless eat for the first time"

Just then a bell tolled causing peko to walk away.

"Damn it, of all the times for her to call" fuyuhiko said," guess I better go see what she wants, don't be hopeless chow before I get back"

Fuyuhiko and peko walked away leaving natsumi seemingly alone. That's when natsumi heard a low growl. Natsumi turned her head to see a pair of red eyes glowing in the shadows.

"Ah shit" natsumi said.


	18. Birth of Hope and Despair

"Are you excited Izuru?" Junko asked as she leaned on him with a sinister smile," soon you'll get just what you desired"

"I do not feel excitement, merely intrigue" Izuru said as he looked down at Chiaki, fast asleep in a white bed.

"What is it that you see in Nanami?" Junko asked," why can't you see that I'm superior to her".

"For a time I thought Hope could never be as unpredictable as despair, but she showed me otherwise" Izuru said.

"Be ready to be disappointed" Junko said," soon you'll see just how chaotic and unpredictable my despair can be"

"Pride comes before a fall" Izuru said.

"You're such a sourpuss" Junko grumbled.

"The time is upon us" Izuru said when he noticed Chiaki move a bit.

"I see" Junko said," we better go and bring in the puppet. Upupupu"

...

Natsumi stared into the eyes of the beast as it moved into the light revealing itself to be a wolf hopeless. It looked frightening with its long claws and teeth, yet when natsumi looked at it she could see it twitched in fear at the sight of her. The wolf hopeless lunged at natsumi only to break through the bars when natsumi dodged it.

"That is it!" Natsumi yelled," I have had it with these fucking hopeless in all these fucking worlds!"

Natsumi was about to lunge at the wolf hopeless when she spotted a green insignia on the wolf hopelesses chest.

"Of course you would turn into a hopeless" natsumi sighed," well, looks like I'm going to have to knock some sense into you, just like I should have done in the past".

The wolf hopeless growled a bit before natsumi upper punched its snout. Immediately, the wolf hopeless whined and cowered. Natsumi grabbed the wolf hopeless by the snout and looked it dead in the eyes.

"If you think I'm going to let you get off for betraying me and chiaki, you better think again" natsumi said," now listen and listen good. You are going to help me rescue Chiaki and fix this mess, no buts! And if you think you can stay a pathetic hopeless forever, you're wrong, because the real Hajime is always apologizing and trying to make up for whatever mistake he makes. I also know that you care for Chiaki as much as I do do, so rather then mope about and being useless you're going to help me for her. Got it?"

The wolf hopeless stared into natsumis eyes and understood before devolving into shadow. Hajimes heart rose from the shadow and proceeded to guide natsumi out of the dungeon.

...

Steadly, Chiaki woke up on her own, expecting to be on the boat. When she examined her surroundings she noticed it looked similar to a faint dream she had. The smells, the colors, and the feel of the sheets were all some how very familiar to her. When she slipped out of bed and that's when she saw it. On the dresser was a photo of Nanami and her parents and a photo of Nanami with all fourteen of her knights. In an instant everything became clear to chiaki. Right on cue the door opened to reveal Chisa dressed in a royal gown.

"Nanami you're finally awake" Chisa said.

Before Chiaki could object to the statement, Chisa embraced her.

"I missed you so much" Chisa said," I thought I was never going to see you again"

"How did I get here?" Chiaki asked.

"We found you passed out at the castle gates" Chisa said.

"Are Hajime and natsumi here?" Chiaki asked.

"I don't know who they are, so I'm pretty sure they're not here" Chisa said.

"Oh" Chiaki said.

"What's the matter, Nanami?" Chisa asked.

"It's just that I'm not Nanami" Chiaki said.

"Of course you are silly" Chisa said.

"No, its true" Chiaki said," I'm nanamis nobody"

"You must of hit your head when you passed out" Chisa said," why don't we go see the others. I'm sure they would all love to see you."

"Others?" Chiaki asked.

"Your friends" Chisa said," I should have Mikan examine your head"

Chisa let go and walked towards the door before turning back to chiaki.

"Come on Nanami" Chisa said. Without a word Chiaki followed Chisa.

...

When Natsumi emerged from the dungeon, she discovered it was a building close the nanamis castle. She was about to head to the castle when she felt a dark aura.

"Do you wish to save her?" Izuru asked.

Natsumi turned around to see Izuru sitting on the tower.

"Yeah, what's it to ya?" Natsumi asked," are you going to try and stop me?"

"No, I only ask that you allow me to see what will soon follow" Izuru said.

"Like hell, I need Hajime if I want to save Chiaki and I don't have time to waste" Natsumi said.

"I can not allow you to interfere with what is to happen" Izuru said.

"Why?" Natsumi asked," wouldn't you want Nanami to be safe?"

"I wish to see what will triumph" Izuru said," hope or despair"

"You're defiantly messed up enough to be a nobody" Natsumi said," but if you aren't going to surrender I'll just beat you into submission"

Before natsumi could even raise her fist, Izuru pinned her to the ground.

"I promise I will relinquish this vessel once the spectacle is over" Izuru said," just stay still and watch what happens"

"Like hell" Natsumi struggled.

"You will need your energy for later" Izuru said," now remain still"

"No, I won't" natsumi shouted only for Izuru to hit a pressure point that made her body freeze.

...

As chiaki followed behind Chisa through the castle she felt more and more like she was in a dream. Everything felt familiar yet at the same time very strange. Chiaki couldn't help but feel a strange feeling as if something was crushing her. Eventually, they reached the garden.

"Why don't you go ahead and meet everyone, Nanami" Chisa smiled.

Chiaki couldn't vocally respond for some reason, so she walked ahead. As she walked she felt a steering feeling in her chest like something was about to shoot out. That's when she felt someone grab and hold her arms behind her back.

"Upupupu" junkos voice echoed throughout the garden," I can't believe you actually fell for that"

From the shadows, Junko emerged wearing a black coat and a deranged smile. Soon after fourteen other black coated and hooded figures appeared and surrounded Junko and chiaki.

"Uh and here I thought you would prove to be more of a challenge" Junko said," though I guess you still have time to put up a fight".

For the first time, Chiaki felt a chill run down her spine as Junko approached her.

"Now, who am I talking to, I wonder" Junko said," the perfect little princess or her inferior nobody"

Chiaki remained silent with eyes wide open.

"Hey, I asked you a question so answer" Junko demanded.

"I'm Chiaki" Chiaki said.

"The nobody" Junko said," figures I'd end up dealing with you instead of her. I swear if you aren't tainted by my despair I'm going to be pissed".

Junko clapped her hands cueing the hooded figures to reveal their faces.

"Do you recognize them?" Junko asked," they are the shells of nanamis beloved friends. It's a shame Nanami can't see through your eyes and see all the pain she caused"

"I don't understand" Chiaki said.

"You see, all this wouldn't have happened had Nanami not abandoned everyone when they needed her most" Junko said," but that doesn't really matter to you because you are her inferior shadow. All you're good for is getting in the way, but soon that won't be a problem"

"What did you do to Hajime and natsumi?!" Chiaki asked.

"I didn't do anything" Junko said," in fact they were the ones that brought you to me"

"No, Hajime and natsumi would never do that" Chiaki said.

"Oh, but they did" Junko smiled," they protected you and let you gather the heart fragments because like everyone else they want Nanami not you"

"But they were so kind" Chiaki said.

"All an act to get you to trust them" Junko said," but now everyone's wish will come true and Nanami will soon return"

"Is that what everyone truly wishes?" Chiaki asked.

"Yes, they all want Nanami to return and put things back in order" Junko said," but in order for that to happen, you need to disappear"

Junko raised her hand and summoned a monotone keyblade. With a twisted smile she pointed It at Chiaki and fired a beam of shadow. The shadow engulfed her torso and dug into her chest. It dug deeper and deeper till it found nanamis fragmented heart. The shadow weaved around the heart before forcefully tugging it out. Chiaki could feel the shadows claws tear into her before they ripped nanamis heart right out of her. Nanamis heart escaped her body along with all its warmth. Chiaki glimpsed at the pure heart before fainting.

"Ah it's more beautiful than I imagined" Junko smiled before the pure heart started to transform," this is hope in its purest form"

In a brilliant display of light, the pure heart transformed into a giant pure white Phoenix with soft pink eyes. As soon as it formed, the Phoenix took to the sky and tried to fly away as fast as possible.

Junko smiled gleefully at the Phoenix before a large shadow emerged and flew towards the white Phoenix. The shadow revealed itself in the moonlight to be a pure black Phoenix with red eyes. Desperately the white Phoenix tried to escape only for the black Phoenix to latch onto it. As the black Phoenix held the white Phoenix in its talons, its body turned to ink that wrapped itself around the white phoenix. While the black ink wrapped around the white Phoenix like vines, the white Phoenix cried out in pain. The ink imprisoned the white Phoenix before it was fused with the black Phoenix. Now the newly fused Phoenix had one red eye and one pink eye. It's body was white with black patterns consuming it.

"Marvelous, simply marvelous" Junko applauded," welcome to the world my paradox Phoenix"


	19. Cursed Rain

Once the paradox Phoenix came to be, it made a blood curdling screech that echoed across all the worlds. The sound was filled with despair and a faint sound of hope. Its paradoxical cry rang in natsumis head as endless tears fell from her eyes. After the paradox Phoenix ended its screech, natsumi regained freedom over her body. With her restored strength, natsumi aimed to punch Izuru only for him to effortlessly dodge.

"Do not waste your energy on me and focus on your goal" Izuru said.

"Fine, then let me speak to Hajime" natsumi demanded.

Without a word, Izuru accepted Hajimes heart and let him take back control. Hajime regained his body, yet he didn't seem to be in control of his emotions. As soon as he took control, tears ran down his cheeks when he saw the paradox Phoenix flying in the sky.

"Hajime, snap out of it" natsumi snapped.

"It's all my fault" Hajime said before falling to his knees," now she is..."

"I said snap out of it" natsumi said as she slapped him across the face," I get why you're depressed, but we don't have time for a pity party. Now get off your ass and help me".

"You're right" Hajime said while wiping away his tears," I just don't know what to do"

"We can start by heading to the castle" natsumi said," something tells me that's where Chiaki is"

"Okay" Hajime nodded.

...

Junko jumped up and down excitedly as the paradox Phoenix flew around the castle and perched itself on the castles highest tower.

"Oh, it's so beautiful" Junko said," I want to see it destroy stuff already"

"It seems, the Phoenix is almost completely transfused" Munakatas nobody said.

"What should we do about this little nobody?" Chisas nobodyasked as she coddled chiakis unconscious body.

"That reminds me" Junko smiled," I need to make sure she doesn't get in my way"

Junko kneeled down to chiaki before kissing her.

"Now that will put an end to that" Junko said as she licked her lips.

Following junkos action, she was struck by a familiar keyblade. Junko looked to see Hajime catch his keyblade.

"My, it seems you managed to escape your hopelessness" Junko said," how?"

"I had sense knocked into me" Hajime said.

"I see, you came here to rescue the princess I assume" Junko said," however you are clearly outmat-"

Before Junko could finish her sentence, a spear pierced through her chest. Following that, natsumi appeared next to Hajime.

"You sure are one yappy bitch" natsumi said.

"To think that i was slain by a blonde" Junko said," how despairing..."

With her final words, Junko faded into shadow. Natsumi moved to where Junko once stood and picked up her spear. The surrounding nobodies stared at them with hollow eyes.

"You're free now" natsumi said," now let Chiaki go"

"It doesn't work like that" Hajime said," we only defeated junkos nobody"

"Then where's the real one?" Natsumi asked.

"She fused her heart with nanamis in order to become the paradox phoenix" Hajime explained.

"Of course she did" natsumi said," fine, then give Chiaki back and we won't have a problem?"

"Do you seek to interfere?" Munakatas nobody asked.

"Listen, I don't have time to explain why I want worlds of peace" natsumi said," I'm only here to save chiaki".

"Go ahead then" chisas nobody said," but nothing will change"

Chisas nobody lifted chiakis unconscious body and placed her in natsumis arms. Within that moment, the paradox Phoenix started to exert a monotone aura. The aura expanded across the sky and past the horizons. With a screech the paradox Phoenix created a shower of shadow and light. When a single drop landed on natsumis arm, it stung like acid.

"Ahh, what the hell is this?" Natsumi asked.

"We need to take shelter" Hajime said before grabbing natsumi by the arm and running for the castle.

"We should go as well" Munakatas nobody advised.

...

Inside the castle, Hajime and Natsumi watched over Chiaki while the nobodies followed them in. For a while their was silence as the cursed rain fell. Finally, Munakatas nobody decided to break the silence.

"It seems we have been betrayed" Munakatas nobody spoke.

"We should have never believed her lies" chisas nobody said.

"What is this rain?" Natsumi asked.

"We don't know" chisas nobody said," it seems to be a shower of destruction"

"The paradox Phoenix was supposed to give hearts" Munakatas nobody said," not take them away"

"Perhaps it has to take in order to give" nagitos nobody said.

"Then we shall wait" Munakatas nobody said.

"How can you say that?!" Natsumi said," would you honestly sacrifice others just to achieve your goal?"

"Natsumi" Hajime spoke to her," we need to focus on Chiaki"

"Right, sorry" natsumi said," will she wake up?"

"I don't know" Hajime answered," something isn't right"

"Hey, tell us what's wrong!" Natsumi demanded.

"Why should we tell you?" Fuyuhikos nobody asked.

"Hold your tongue" Munakatas nobody commanded," why do you wish to know?"

"Because chiaki's our friend" natsumi said," now tell us what happened!"

"We will do no such thing" Munakatas nobody said.

"You bastard!" Natsumi shouted and almost lunged at him.

"Wait" chisas nobody said, "perhaps we should tell them. After all, this girl is different from Nanami"

"Very well" Munakatas nobody said," Junko placed a curse on her that forced her into eternal slumber"

"Does she need a true loves kiss or something?" Natsumi asked.

"We are unsure" Munakatas nobody said.

"You bastards!" Natsumi shouted," how could you let this happen? Wasn't she precious to all of you?"

"She was" Munakatas nobody said," until she abandoned us"

"She wouldn't be that treacherous" natsumi said.

"The reason she shattered her heart was to make sure it wouldn't be taken and misused by Junko" Hajime said.

"Were we lied to?" Munakatas nobody asked.

"No shit Sherlock" Natsumi said," Junko' the traitor here not Nanami"

"I see, we were all tricked by her promise of hearts" Munakatas nobody said," how pathetic must we be?"

"No, you all tried to fight against Junko" Hajime said," she just used dirty tactics to defeat you"

"I'm sorry" Munakatas nobody kneeled," all we wanted was our hearts and that desire blinded us"

"This is all our fault" chisas nobody said while each nobody kneeled in sorrow.

"No, Junko is to blame for this entire mess" Hajime said," that's why we need to stop her"

"You are right" Munakatas nobody said," we will do what we can."

"If I remember, the last heart fragment should be here in this castle" Hajime said," if we find it we may be able to wake up Chiaki"

"Last I recall, it was in junkos quarters" chisas nobody said.

"Then we'll check there" Hajime said.

"I'll stay with Chiaki" Natsumi said to which Hajime nodded.

"Half of you will follow me while the rest remain here" Munakatas nobody said.

"Yes, sir" all the nobodies said.

...

Hajime and Munakatas nobody rushed through the castle to junkos quarters. They busted open the door to see a glowing piece of light sitting on a cushion over the fire places Hajime was about to enter when Munakatas nobody held him back. Munakatas nobody turned to pekos nobody and tilted his head. Pekos nobody charged into the room and countered an attack from above. Mukuro dropped from the ceiling with dagger in hand, ready to fight. However, once she saw she was outmatched, she pulled out another dagger.

"Stand down" Munakatas nobody commanded.

Mukuro growled a bit before trying to take the heart fragment. Pekos nobody stopped and restrained her.

"Hajime, take the heart fragment and go" Munakatas nobody commanded.

"Yes sir" Hajime said before taking the cushion, holding the heart fragment, and running.

"Now, as for you" Munakatas nobody said as he turned to Mukuro,"surrender".

Mukuro refused as she managed to slip out of pekos hold. She ran as fast as she could to the nearest window and jumped out into the pouring rain of light and shadow.

"Is that bitch insane?" Fuyuhiko asked.

As Mukuro descended from the window, the rain dissolved through her form until only her heart remained. The heart ascended and joined a plethora of hearts that were all being absorbed by the paradox Phoenix. Munakatas nobody looked at the sight grimly.

"We must hurry" Munakatas nobody said.

...

Hajime ran down the stairs with the heart fragment in his possession. Natsumi looked at Hajime as he kneeled down to chiaki.

"So how do we do this?" Natsumi asked.

"Here, maybe if I can-" Hajime said as he tried to pick up the heart fragment only for it to burn him.

"Only those who have hearts full of hope, can hold nanamis heart fragments" chisas nobody explained.

"Here, let me try" Natsumi said before picking up the heart fragment.

"You are very determined" chisas nobody said while natsumi held the heart fragment.

"It's nothing" Natsumi said," now, wake up Chiaki"

Natsumi pushed the heart fragment in delicately. Without resistance, the heart fragment entered. A few minutes passed until Chiaki started to stir.

"Mmh..no.." Chiaki mumbled before opening her eyes.

"Chiaki?" Natsumi asked.

"Wh...what happened?" Chiaki asked.

"It's alright Chiaki, Hajime and I are right here" Natsumi explained.

"Why... I thought you abandoned me" Chiaki said.

"No" Natsumi said as she embraced Chiaki," I would never abandon you. I'm right here with you"

"She's right" Hajime said," we are both here for you now"

"The heart fragments are gone" Chiaki said," she took them from me"

"Don't worry" Natsumi said," we're going to get them back"

"Can you stand?" Hajime asked.

"I can...I think" Chiaki said until she noticed the nobodies," what are they doing here"

"They were tricked into following Junko" Hajime explained," but now they are on our side".

"I see" Chiaki said," what happened to Junko and all the heart fragments?"

"The Junko you saw was a nobody" Hajime explained," she stole the heart fragments and fused them with the real junkos heart to create this monster called the paradox Phoenix".

"On the bright side, I killed junkos nobody" Natsumi said.

"But how will we get the heart fragments back?" Chiaki asked.

"I don't know" Hajime admitted.

"There is one possibility" chisas nobody said," if she was able to get close to the paradox Phoenix then she might be able to reach out and free nanamis heart"

"How can we get close when that cursed rain is falling outside?" Hajime asked.

"I have an idea..I think" Chiaki said.

"What is it?" Natsumi asked.

"Heart synchronization" Chiaki said.


	20. Sanctuary

"What the hell is heart synchronization?" Natsumi asked.

"It's an ability that allows one to enter the heart of another" chisas nobody explained.

"Creepy, but useful" Natsumi said," how do we do it?"

"I need the Phoenix to hear me" Chiaki said.

"Right now it's on the highest tower" Hajime said.

"Could you lure it to the garden?" Chiaki asked.

"We can" chisas nobody said.

"Then I'll wait here with Hajime and natsumi" Chiaki said.

"Is there something you need us to do?" Natsumi asked.

"Yes, when the Phoenix arrives I need you to hold it back while I perform the heart synchronization"

"Alright then" Natsumi said as she picked up her spear.

...

Just as the nobodies promised, they were able to knock the paradox Phoenix into the garden using the abilities from their keyblades. The Phoenix raised its wings in anger before the castle doors to the garden opened revealing Chiaki, Natsumi, and Hajime.

"A scattered dream is like a far off memory. A far off memory that's like a scattered dream" Chiaki said as her keyblade started to glow," I want to line the pieces up. Yours and mine"

Once she finished her spell, the keyblade started to produce music along with lines of light. Then Chiaki sang:

 _In you and I, there's a new land  
Angels in flight  
I need more affection than you know (reversed)  
My sanctuary, my sanctuary, yeah  
Where fears and lies melt away  
Music inside  
I need more affection than you know (reversed)  
What's left of me  
What's left of me now?_

As chiaki sang, the Phoenix cocked its head and prepared to lunge for chiaki. Using their weapons, Hajime and natsumi held off the Phoenix.

 _(So many ups and downs)  
My heart's a battleground  
(I need true emotions)  
(I need more affection than you know)  
(I need true emotions)_

By now, the lines of lights had expanded past Chiaki and started to wrap around the Phoenix.

 _You show me how to see  
That nothing is whole and nothing is broken  
In you and I, there's a new land  
Angels in flight  
I need more affection than you know (reversed)  
My sanctuary, my sanctuary, yeah  
Where fears and lies melt away,  
Music inside  
I need more affection than you know (reversed)_

As chiakis song came to an end, the lights wrapped around the Phoenix as it started to fall asleep and the rain started to lighten.

 _What's left of me,  
What's left of me now?_

 _My fears, my lies..  
Melt away._

Once she finished her song, the strings of light ended and left her body causing her to faint. Both Hajime and natsumi rushed to catch her before she hit the ground. The phoenix fell asleep, causing the cursed rain to stop. Hajime bit his tongue as he tried not to think about what could happen. Natsumi took notice of his stress and placed her hand on his.

"She's strong, remember" Natsumi reassured.

"You're right" Hajime nodded as he looked down at chiaki.

...

When chiaki opened her eyes she found herself in a sanctuary of sorts. The halls were pure white with shining marble floors, yet every part of the pure sanctuary was infested with black vines. All the black vines were covered in thorns as they suffocated the sanctuary and produced an air of uneasiness. Carefully, Chiaki walked through the hall. As she walked she came upon paintings of Nanami, except the faces were blacked out. Despite the disturbing sight, Chiaki continued forward through the hall. She walked for a while until she started to hear voices.

"I have to be perfect"

"Love me"

"I don't want to be alone"

"Everyone, don't leave me"

"I'm scared"

Chiaki recognized the voices as nanamis. Each word sounded so desperate and scared. The voices chattered for a while until new voices emerged.

"You're so beautiful"

"Don't change"

"We love you as you are now"

"You're an Angel"

"I would happily die for you"

"Promise that you'll always smile"

Those voices, Chiaki remembered, belonged to nanamis friends and family. As chiaki continued forward, the voices settled down behind her. She walked cautiously over the thorn vines before she spotted a scarlet door. Facing the door, she took a deep breath before entering.

Inside was a throne room filled with a garden monotone roses. More importantly, Nanami laid trapped in a web of ink and roses between two pillars at the end of the room. She was passed out from the looks of it with a crown of roses on her head. Chiaki stepped forward only to trigger a familiar and sinister laugh. The laugh echoed through the hall before a blob of ink descended from the ceiling. When the ink landed before Chiaki, it started to take form before it became the true Junko enoshima.

"What do we have here?" Junko asked," an insignificant nobody"

"My name is Chiaki" Chiaki proclaimed as she summoned her keyblade," I'm here to stop you and save Nanami"

"Really?" Junko asked before turning into ink and forming behind Chiaki" is that what you really want?"

"Yes" Chiaki said as she turned to face Junko.

"But what will happen after you save her?" Junko asked as she turned into ink and moved towards Nanami.

"Nanami will come back and set everything back to order" Chiaki said.

"True" Junko said after she formed next to Nanami," but once you deliver the final heart fragment, you will disappear from existence and this little flower will take your place"

"I know, but I can't let this world fall to chaos" Chiaki said causing Junko to turn into ink and form right in front of Chiaki.

"I sense their is some emotional attachment in your voice" Junko said," perhaps you have convinced yourself into loving others"

"What does that matter?" Chiaki asked.

"If you were to leave those people you love will fall into despair" Junko said," perhaps so much that they turn into hopeless"

"No, they're stronger than that" Chiaki said," they'll move on and forget about me"

"Right you're a nobody so I'll explain" Junko said," humans are fragile and pitiful creatures that fall to despair as soon as they loose something valuable to them"

"Not them" Chiaki said.

"Even the strongest of heart can be weakened by despair" Junko said.

"No, you're lying" Chiaki said as she raised her keyblade to fight.

"Oh, then I'll guess I'll have to prove it" Junko said.

Junko clapped her hands, causing sixteen coffins to raise up from the garden of roses. With a sinister smile, Junko sank into ink before forming by nanamis side. Delicately Junko tapped nanamis shoulder and whispered into her ear.

"Look Nanami" Junko whispered," everyone you love is dead"

The web and vines tightened till they woke Nanami up. She looked around desperately to see the coffins.

"No" Nanami said.

"They all died because of you" Junko whispered to her like a poisonous snake," it's all your fault"

"No" Nanami cried as she gazed upon the coffins and saw visions of her loved ones.

As nanamis tears fell, the vines grew bigger and stronger as they started to crush the sanctuary. The vines created cracks in the walls causing Nanami to cry out in pain. Unable to take anymore, Chiaki leaped towards Junko ready to strike her with her keyblade. Junko merely grinned before commanding the vines to trap Chiaki.

"You just don't know when to quite" Junko laughed," but don't worry, soon you'll realize that I am the only one left for you and our hearts will become one forever"

"I won't let that happen" Chiaki struggled.

"Just think of all the hearts we can devour" Junko said," we could even one day devour kingdom hearts"

"Please, don't leave me" Nanami cried causing chiakis keyblade to glow.

"Don't worry, soon i'll be with you forever" Junko smiled.

"No, don't listen to Junko" Chiaki said," she's lying to you"

"I don't want to be alone" Nanami cried.

"But you aren't alone" Chiaki said," your loved ones are still with you"

"No, they're dead" nanami said.

"They're right here with you in your heart" Chiaki said as she raised the keyblade," open your eyes and you'll see them"

Sixteen hearts shot out of the keyblade and floated around nanami. With their calming auras, the heart melted away the web and vines that trapped Nanami. Nanami looked up at the hearts with tear filled eyes.

"Mom, dad, everyone" Nanami said.

As Nanami spoke, the vines started to shrink and wither a bit allowing Chiaki to free herself. Junko was about to lunge for Nanami until Chiaki used keyblade to freeze Junko in a block of ice.

"No, this can't be" Junko said," I can't be defeated by a worthless nobody.

"Are you alright?" Chiaki asked, ignoring Junko and walking to Nanami.

"I'm fine now, thank you " Nanami said," who are you?"

"I'm Chiaki" Chiaki said," I have something that belongs to you"

Chiaki summoned the last heart fragment and offered it to Nanami.

"Were you the one that gathered my heart fragments?" Nanami asked.

"I had a lot of help from my friends Hajime and natsumi" Chiaki said.

"Then I'll thank them when I see them" Nanami smiled," but what will happen when my heart is fixed".

"I don't know" Chiaki said," I'm pretty sure I'll disappear"

"Then I can't accept this" Nanami said.

"No, a lot of people need you now" Chiaki said," more so than they need me"

"Isn't there anything I can do for you?" Nanami asked.

"Deliver a message to Hajime and natsumi for me" Chiaki requested.

"I will" Nanami said.

Once the message was heard, Chiaki and Nanami hugged each other. Together they turned into a bright and beautiful light that burned away Junko and her vines.

...

Hajime and natsumi grew increasingly worried with each passing second until they saw the paradox Phoenix burst into a thousand shooting hearts. From among those hearts, sixteen returned to the nobodies while one returned to Mukuro. A heart that shined like the full moon floated forth and entered chiakis body. Soon enough, she started to open her eyes.

"Chiaki, you're okay" Hajime cried as he hugged her.

"You had us worried" natsumi said as she joined in the hug.

"I'm sorry" Nanami spoke," but I'm not Chiaki"


	21. The End?

"I'm sorry" Nanami said," but I'm not Chiaki"

Hajime looked for the words to reassure her that it was okay, but it wasn't. Natsumi bit her tongue to the point of it bleeding in hopes to control her internal rage. They were both well aware of nanamis importance and right to live, yet they subconsciously wished for Chiaki to have survived instead of Nanami.

"Nanami!" Chisa said once she regained her heart.

"Mom" Nanami replied as her mother embraced her.

"I'm so glad you're safe" Chisa said.

Just in the middle of the reunion, a pitch black heart tried to slip away only to be caught by Munakata.

"What should we do with this?" Munakata asked as he held the heart suspended by his keyblade.

"I think we should analyze this anomaly" Chisa said before noticing natsumi and Hajime in their broken states," but that can wait till after we deal with these two"

"Natsumi!" Fuyuhiko shouted before pouncing his sister," what the hell are you doing here"

"I saved your ass" Natsumi said with a faint smile.

"We are glad to see you are unharmed" peko smiled as she ruffled natsumis hair.

"You can thank Hajime and..." Natsumi was trying to say only to loose her words along with her joy.

"You two must be exhausted" Chisa said," why don't you rest in one of our guest rooms, it's no trouble"

"I.." Hajime tried to refuse, yet couldn't when he saw Nanami staring at him.

"We'll accept" Natsumi spoke for Hajime.

"Alright then, I'll prepare the rooms" Chisa said.

"We'll share a room if that okay" Natsumi said almost making fuyuhikos blood boil at the implication.

"I understand" Chisa said.

...

Once the room was fixed up, natsumi and Hajime changed into some supplied pajamas. The room and pajamas were very comfortable, yet natsumi and Hajime couldn't sleep. In the end, they just ended up staring at the star filled sky of the night. Their eyes both locked on to the soft pale moon as it reminded them of her.

"So..." natsumi attempted to start a conversation," how are you?"

"What do you think?" Hajime asked.

"I know it's a stupid question, but we need to talk about it" natsumi said," now how do you feel?"

"Fine" Hajime sighed," I feel empty"

"Me too" natsumi said," but how do we deal with it?"

"I don't know" Hajime said," how did you deal with me abandoning you?"

"I..." natsumi stuttered, too scared to suggest something so cruel," I just did"

"You had to forget me" Hajime said," simple as that"

"No, we can't do that" natsumi said," after all that she did for us, we can't forget her on a whim"

"If I forget then it won't hurt when I look at Nanami" Hajime said," I won't feel this vile hatred for her"

"I get that nanamis appearance would get to you, but you can't hate her for it" natsumi said.

"I know, but I do" Hajime said," I try to ignore it but it's still there growing every time I see and think of her"

"I'm angry too, but we can't hate Nanami for something she has no control over" natsumi said," that would go against what she wanted"

"You're right" Hajime said," I should hate myself for causing all this trouble and falling in love with chiaki".

"Hajime" Natsumi tried to say only for Hajime to cut her off.

"I'm tired" Hajime said," I'm going to sleep"

"Fine" Natsumi said.

...

Nanami walked down the familiar castle hallway till she reached the guest room. She stared at the door only to feel a weight of guilt on her shoulders. Before she could knock, Chisa grabbed nanamis hand and pulled her away and far from the door.

"Why did you do that?" Nanami asked.

"I know you want to help, but they need time alone to process" Chisa said.

"I just want to say I'm sorry" Nanami said.

"That's a nice sentiment, but it's not the right time" Chisa said," just go to bed"

"Okay" nanami agreed

...

Nanami entered her room and laid on the soft and comforting bed. She wrapped herself in the warm bedsheets while she thought of Hajime and natsumi. The immediate change in their eyes when she told them who she wasn't. It was almost too much for her to bare. She rolled around in her bed in hopes to shake away those burdening thoughts until she felt something push against her chest. When she checked, she found a crystal pendant that she had no recollection of having. Delicately she removed the necklace from her neck when she sensed it wasn't hers. She placed the necklace down on her nightstand and looked at how it sparkles in the moonlight.

"I'm sorry, Chiaki" Nanami said before digging her face into her pillow and fell asleep.

...

Deep within her sleep, Nanami dreamed of a strange place. It was like the sanctuary she was in before, but purified of junkos presence. There she walked to find a courtyard with a lovely fountain surrounded by white roses. She walked up to the fountain in awe and looked at the falling water. As she did she noticed a figure that she first mistook to be her reflection. When she moved her head around the falling water her eyes came into contact with another.

"It's you" Nanami said.

Chiaki looked at Nanami before running away only for Nanami to follow her.

"Please don't run away" Nanami said," I need to speak to you"

"I have to disappear" Chiaki said," that's just how things are"

"No, I don't believe that" Nanami said," I'll find a way for you to exist"

"Why?" Chiaki asked.

"Because you deserve to exist with Hajime and natsumi" Nanami said.

"How are they?" Chiaki asked.

"They're still recovering, but I know they want to see you" Nanami said.

"I see" Chiaki said before the area started to shake.

"What was that?" Nanami asked.

"I'm going to disappear soon" Chiaki said before vanishing like a ghost.

"I'll stop that from happening" Nanami said determinedly.

...

The next afternoon, Nanami went to go see her father in his studies. When she found him, he was sorting through papers and writing all sorts of notes and plans. She was too nervous to disturb his work, but fortunately he noticed her and stopped what he was doing.

"What seems to be the problem?" Munakata asked.

"I want to see the heart doctor" Nanami said.

"Very well, I'll arrange an appointment" Munakata said," but why?"

"I just want to ask her some questions" Nanami said," also how are Hajime and natsumi"

"Last I checked they were still held up in their room" Munakata said.

"Okay" Chiaki nodded," I'll go check, but please schedule an appointment for as soon as possible"

"Should be easy considering we're royalty" Munakata smirked making Nanami laugh a bit before leaving.

...

On the way to finding her mother, Nanami bumped into fuyuhiko and peko.

"Hi fuyuhiko, peko" Nanami greeted," how are you?"

"We're doing fine considering we got our hearts back less than a day ago" fuyuhiko said," we were just going to check on natsumi"

"She's very fortunate to have a kind and loyal brother like you" Nanami said.

"Blood is thicker than water" peko said.

"That's just pekos way of saying thank you" fuyuhiko laughed.

"I see" Nanami smiled," could you tell me how they're doing when your done?"

"Sure thing" fuyuhiko nodded," but if that bastard does anything to natsumi I swear I'll beat his ass so hard"

"I don't think he's like that" Nanami said.

"Just a precautionary" peko said.

"I see" nanami said," well good luck with that".

...

Back in the guest room, Hajime was trying his best to sleep while natsumi watched over him. Just as he was starting to pant and cry, natsumi came to his bedside and stroked the side of his head in order to calm him down. Of course, fuyuhiko just had to pick that moment to barge in. He took one look at natsumi standing over Hajime and nearly popped a blood vessel.

"Did you fucking sleep with him!" Fuyuhiko shouted.

"No!" Natsumi shouted back," now keep your voice down. You're going to wake him up"

"Sorry" fuyuhiko said," you know I just worry"

"I noticed" natsumi smirked," what do you need?"

"We just came to check on you" peko said," how are you feeling"

"Honestly, not too good" natsumi said.

"Is it about Nanami?" Fuyuhiko asked.

"Sort of" natsumi said before explaining the situation regarding Chiaki.

"Shit" fuyuhiko said after listening," no wonder you don't feel well"

"Yeah, but I think Hajime is taking it worse than me" natsumi said," that's why I think I'll being staying by his side until we get shit figured out"

"Understood" peko said.

"I respect your choice" fuyuhiko said," just don't do anything stupid"

"Don't have to tell me twice" natsumi said before fuyuhiko and peko left.

"Huh" natsumi sighed as she looked at Hajime," what are we going to do?"

...

"How are they?" Nanami asked when she saw fuyuhiko and peko.

"Natsumi seems fine enough, but that other boy doesn't seem to be taking it well" peko reported.

"I should speak to them" Nanami said.

"Listen, I know you want to help because you feel guilty" fuyuhiko said," but you have to understand that your presence stirs up bad memories of them"

"Then what can I do?" Nanami asked.

"Just stay away from them" fuyuhiko said.

"Okay" Nanami said as she walked.

"Where are you going?" Peko asked.

"I'm just going to get some water" Nanami said.

"Gotcha" fuyuhiko said

...

In the kitchen, Nanami poured herself a glass and sat at the table. As she drank her water, she couldn't help but take out the pendant from last night. Looking at it made her heart ache, but she didn't really know why. Just as she lifted the pendant to a beam of light that dripped in through the window, Nanami noticed natsumi in the doorway. There was a long minute of silence as the two looked at each other.

"I'll just go" Nanami said as she stood up from her chair.

"No, you don't have to go" natsumi said," actually, I want to talk to you"

"Oh, okay" Nanami said before sitting back down.

"So how are you feeling?" Natsumi asked as she prepared herself some tea.

"I'm healthy an unharmed" Nanami said.

"That's good" natsumi said.

"How are you and Hajime?" Nanami asked.

"I'll manage, but Hajime is going to take more time to recover" natsumi said.

"I'm sorry" Nanami said.

"Don't blame yourself" natsumi said," trust me, i know from experience that it won't help you".

"Oh, okay" Nanami said.

"Wants some?" Natsumi offered a cup of tea.

"Sure, thank you" Nanami accepted.

Nanami took her cup of tea and poured a bunch sugar into it. Watching Nanami, natsumi couldn't help but laugh.

"You must really like sugar" natsumi said.

"The tea is bitter without it" Nanami said.

"Yeah, I like my tea with lots of sugar, so I can relate" natsumi said while she poured lots of sugar into her tea.

There was some silence as the two drank their tea. Had Nanami not spoken up, they would have stayed silent for who knows how long.

"Umm...natsumi" Nanami asked.

"What is it?" Natsumi asked.

"Does this belong to chiaki?" Nanami asked as she offered the crystal pendant.

"...yeah..it did" natsumi hesitated to say," Hajime and I made it for her"

"Do you want it back?" Nanami asked.

"No, I think you should keep it" natsumi said," Chiaki already made us our own crystal charms".

Natsumi pulled out her necklace from under her shirt, revealing a tiger charm and an orange crystal charm on it.

"It's very beautiful" Nanami said.

"Yep" Natsumi said," well, I gotta go check on Hajime".

"I hope you two feel better" Nanami said.

"Thank you Nanami" Natsumi said," it was nice talking to you"

"Oh wait" Nanami said," before you go, I have something to tell you and Hajime"

"What is it?" Natsumi asked.

"Chiaki wanted me to tell you two that she doesn't regret meeting and befriending you" Nanami said," she wishes you two can continue to live and make more memories"

"I'll be sure to let Hajime know" Natsumi said before leaving.

...

Nanami walked back to her room with a heavy heart. Did she do the right thing by talking to natsumi? She honestly didn't know as she turned the knob of her rooms door. Nanami walked into her room to see two people waiting for her. One was a boy with short light brown hair in a doctors coat while the other was a girl with short blue hair and a red scarf.

"Hello" the boy said," my name is fujisaki and this is my master Miaya"

"If you don't mind me asking" Nanami said," why are you here?"

"Miaya is the heart doctor you requested" fujisaki said," and I'm her assistant"

"I see" Nanami said," nice to meet you"

"Alright, so what do you need?" Fujisaki asked.

"I was wondering if you knew anything about nobodies" Nanami said," specifically, what happens to them when a person regains their heart"

Fujisaki leaned down to listen as Miaya whispered into his ear. Once she was done whispering, Fujisaki faced Nanami.

"A nobody is the physical body left behind when a person loses their heart" fujisaki explained," when a nobody regains their heart the two entities become one"

"Could you separate the two?" Nanami asked," like let both the nobody and the original heart exist at the same time"

"It's very unlikely since nobodies are merely shadows of their former heart and therefore do not have strong personalities to become their own entities" fujisaki explained after listening to Miaya," why do you ask"

"Well, I recently returned from having my heart shattered and I'm afraid that I'm responsible for the death of my nobody" Nanami explained.

"How long was your heart shattered?" Fujisaki asked.

"I don't know" Nanami said.

"Do you remember anything from your nobody?" Fujisaki asked.

"No" Nanami said.

"Interesting" Fujisaki said before Miaya whispered to him again.

"Is something wrong?" Nanami asked.

"No, it's just that your situation is rather peculiar" Fujisaki said," would it be alright if Miaya takes a look at your heart?"

"Sure..I guess" Nanami said.

Miaya walked up to Nanami and stared intensely at her chest. She place a hand on Nanamis' chest and continued to stare. Following this, miaya laid her head on Nanami chest and listened. After that, Miaya walked over and whispered to Fujisaki.

"Based on Miayas' analysis, it would seem you have a bit of an extra heart" fujisaki said.

"Extra heart?" Nanami asked.

"Yep" fujisaki said," we hypothesize that it may belong to your nobody".

"I thought nobodies didn't have hearts" Nanami said.

"While that is true for most, it seems your nobody is an oddity" fujisaki said.

"So could she separate from me and become her own person?" Nanami asked.

"It's possible, but she will need a lot of energy and will to manifest" fujisaki said.

"I'll do anything to bring her back" Nanami said.

"Alright, but first let me explain the risk" fujisaki said," you see, in order for your nobody to become their own individual, we need to disconnect and sever your hearts from one another"

"Okay" Nanami nodded.

"Fortunately we have a drug that can help you do that, but you will also need to delve into your heart and disconnect it manually" fujisaki explained," if you don't fully disconnect your heart and your nobodies heart, either one of you could suffer memory loss, changes in your behavior, or other mental disorders"

"I'll do it" Nanami said.

"Alri-" Fujisaki tried to say before Miaya pulled on his sleeve," oh right, we'll need your parents permission in order to initiate the procedure"

"My father should be in his study and my mother might be in the garden" Nanami said.

"I'll go get them" Fujisaki offered," just wait here with Miaya"

Fujisaki left the room leaving Nanami alone with the heart doctor. Nanami didn't really know what to do with the quiet doctor.

"So...how were you able to examine my heart?" Nanami asked.

Miaya didn't seem to respond as she pulled out a journal from her leather bag and started writing. When Miaya finished writing, she revealed the page to Nanami.

"It's just an ability I was born with" the writing said.

"That's really cool" Nanami smiled making Miaya blush.

Soon after, Munakata bursted into the room.

"Nanami you can not take this procedure" Munakata said," I forbid you"

"I'm sorry papa, but I need to do this" Nanami said just as Chisa and Fujisaki entered the room.

"Namami, I know you feel bad for what happened, but you can't risk your life" Chisa said.

"No, Chiaki risked her life countless times for me" Nanami said," I have to return her kindness".

"I will not allow you to risk your life for a nobody" Munakata said.

"Chiaki is not a nobody!" Nanami yelled," Chiaki is her own person"

The room went deathly quiet as Nanami stood determined against her parents. Munakata tightened his fist before Chisa tugged at his arm. Nanami softened her face as she faced her parents.

"Don't worry" Nanami reassured," I'll be alright just trust me"

Munakata stared at Nanami while biting his lip. Just as he was about to yell at her again, he softened and hugged her.

"Promise you will come back safe and sound" Munakata said as he hugged Nanami.

"I promise" Nanami said.

"Then I'll let you go" Munakata said.

"Me too" Chisa said.

"Thank you, mama, papa" Nanami said as she hugged both her parents.

"Alright" fujisaki said," I'll prepare the drug, just lie on your bed"

Fujisaki opened his leather bag and picked out a bottle of pink liquid and a vaccine. Nanami laid on her bed and took a deep breath. Once the vaccine was filled, Fujisaki turned to face Nanami.

"This may sting a bit" Fujisaki warned.

"I can handle it" Nanami said as she pulled up her sleeve.

Fujisaki held her arm in one hand while searching for a vein with his other hand. He found a good vein and injected the vaccine into it causing Nanami to flinch. After the dosage had entered her veins, Fujisaki withdrew the vaccine and bandaged the wound.

"You're going to feel numbness" Fujisaki explained," this is the drug working to put you to sleep"

"Yeah, I can feel it starting to take effect" Nanami said.

"We'll be right here for you" Chisa said as she held nanamis hand while Munakata held her other hand.

The drug streamed through her veins causing her vision to fade. With her last conscious thoughts, Nanami looked up at her parents and smiled.

...

Nanami fell deep into her heart until she reached the fountain. There Chiaki waited for Nanami on a pure white bench.

"Why did you come here?" Chiaki asked.

"I wanted to set you free" Nanami said.

"Free?" Chiaki asked.

"You see, our hearts are tied to each other like a chain" Nanami said," but if we break the chain, then we can both live simultaneously"

"But I don't have a heart" Chiaki said.

"No, you do" Nanami said," sure it's small, but it's filled with those precious memories you made with Hajime and natsumi"

"How are they?" Chiaki asked.

"They miss you so much" Nanami said," so please help me set your heart free"

"Fine, but what do I do?" Chiaki asked.

"Do you believe you are your own individual?" Nanami asked.

"Yes...I think" Chiaki said.

"Say it with confidence" Nanami advised.

"Yes" Chiaki said.

"Who are you?" Nanami asked.

"I'm Chiaki" Chiaki said.

"Good, now summon your true keyblade" Nanami advised," the one that represents your true heart"

Chiaki closed her eyes as she raised her hand out. Thoughts of natsumi and Hajime flooded her mind. Following this, a new keyblade formed in her hand. This keyblade was like a sword with three streaks of green, pink, and orange. Dangling at the end was the crystal pendant Hajime and natsumi made her.

"You see" Nanami said," this shows you have a will separate from mine"

"I see" Chiaki said.

"Now let's break the chain together" Nanami said as she lifted her keyblade.

...

Nanami remained fast asleep as a tiny shimmer of light floated out from her chest. Everyone stood back as the light floated to the crystal pendant Nanami had left on her night stand. The light glowed and struggled to form into a familiar figure. With one last push, the light successfully formed into a full size girl. The light faded to reveal a girl with long pink hair in a simple white dress. For a moment the girl forgot to stand as she almost fell over, but quickly regained her ground. She looked at her hands and moved them around before facing everyone.

"Chiaki?" Chisa asked.

"Yes" Chiaki said.

Soon after, Nanami woke up. Nanami took one look at Chiaki and smiled.

"Let's go find Hajime and natsumi" Nanami said to which Chiaki nodded.

...

Together, Nanami and chiaki walked down to the guest room. When they arrived they found no sign of natsumi or Hajime. Nanami looked around the castle until she found fuyuhiko.

"Fuyuhiko, where did Hajime and natsumi go?" Nanami asked.

"They went down to the beach- woah who's your twin sister?" Fuyuhiko spoke.

"Chiaki, you go on ahead" nanami said to which Chiaki nodded and ran off.

...

Down at the beach, Hajime and natsumi watched the rising tide. Hajime was still depressed as he looked at the sea with longing eyes. Natsumi could only stare at him pitifully, knowing full well the pain that was eating away at him.

"Isn't the sea nice?" Natsumi asked.

"I guess" Hajime said.

"Nanami told me chiakis last words" natsumi said," she said she had no regrets and she wants us both to keep leaving and making memories".

"That's just like her" Hajime said," but I doubt I can"

"Yes, you can" a familiar voice said.

Natsumi and Hajime turned to see Chiaki standing behind them in her white dress. At first they blinked and wiped their eyes to make sure they weren't seeing things. Once they confirmed it was her, they both rushed up to her and embraced her. They ran so swiftly that they nearly knocked her over causing Chiaki to laugh.

"I missed you guys too" Chiaki smiled," so let's make more memories together"

...

The next day, the trio patched up their old boat, now renamed memento, and prepared to take sail. Of course some came to see them off.

"Stay safe out there" fuyuhiko said to natsumi," and don't let that haji guy take advantage of you"

"Trust me, Hajime is just a friend" Natsumi said.

"Also remember to eat a balanced diet" peko advised," you don't want to get scurvy"

"I know" Natsumi said before hugging fuyuhiko and peko," you two better admit your feelings for each other before I get back".

Instantly fuyuhiko and peko started to blush making Natsumi laugh. Meanwhile Hajime and chiaki said goodbye to the royal family.

"Thank you very much for all your hospitality" Hajime bowed.

"It's the least we can do after everything the three of you have done for us" Chisa smiled.

"Are you sure you don't want to become knights?" Munakata asked.

"No, I think we'll just explore on our own if that's okay" Hajime said.

"Very well, just know that Chiaki can easily bestow the power of the keyblade onto you and natsumi" Munakata said.

"I think they're fine, papa" Nanami said," anyways, I hope we can meet again in the future"

"We'll make sure to visit" Chiaki smiled.

"Goodbye for now then" Nanami waved.

As the trio boarded the boat, Nanami looked up to her father.

"Hey papa" Nanami spoke," I think I want to see the worlds in the future too"

"I always knew that day was coming" Munakata said," but I think that it will be good to check on the other words as a full unit"

"Thank you papa" Nanami said.

...

Once the trio was on the boat, Hajime pulled out his map.

"Where to first?" Hajime asked.

"I'd like to check out those floating islands you mentioned" Natsumi said," and we can always go back to the world of beast, so I can beat you at wrestling again"

"Why don't we go to twilight town and get some sea salt ice cream?" Chiaki offered.

"I like that idea" Hajime said," what about you, Natsumi?"

"Let's do it" Natsumi said.

"Then we're headed to twilight town" Hajime smiled.


	22. One Final Mission

A few days passed as the trio explored the worlds. They enjoyed their time together, until one night.

"Uhh I'm so stuffed" Natsumi grumbled as she tossed in bed," I feel like my stomach's going to pop"

"I'll go get a bucket" Chiaki said.

"I told you to slow down and not eat so much" Hajime said.

"And I told you that you only live once, so en-ehhh" Natsumi tried to shout only to get a stomach cramp.

"It's okay" Chiaki reassured as she gave Natsumi the bucket," miss Hanamuras food is very delicious and addicting"

"In any case, you should just sleep" Hajime said," I'm sure you'll be back to your usual fiery self in the morning"

"Fine, but don't you two do anything funny while I'm asleep" Natsumi said as she nestled into her hammock.

"Funny?" Chiaki asked.

"It's nothing we have to worry about" Hajime said, hoping that Chiaki would leave it at that.

"But what did she mean by it?" Chiaki asked.

"Well Natsumi since you started it you can-" Hajime said only to realize Natsumi was fast asleep,' god damn it'

"Do you know?" Chiaki asked.

"Well um when a girl and a boy love each other very much, they do things" hajime said with a red face," like kissing"

" does that mean we love each other?" Chiaki asked making Hajime blush even more.

"That's how Natsumi sees it apparently" Hajime said," what are your thoughts"

"I think-no, I know that I love you Hajime" Chiaki smiled," what about you?"

"I love you too" Hajime said.

"But don't you love Nanami?" Chiaki asked.

"In the past, but it was selfish and one sided" Hajime said," back then I was so insecure that I just easily fell in love with the first person that gave me hope"

"Then how do you love me?" Chiaki asked.

"Because we spent all that time together, learning about each other, and fighting side by side" Hajime said," in that time you showed me your strengths and flaws while also showing me my strengths and flaws".

"Hajime..." Chiaki said.

"Before I was unsure, because I thought you were just a copy of Nanami, but now I know I love you Chiaki for being your unique self" Hajime said," so, If you want, we can become a couple and let everyone know we love each other"

"I would like that very much" Chiaki smiled," does this mean we should kiss?"

"If you want to" Hajime said with blushed cheeks.

"Wait, before we do that I need to get something off my chest" Chiaki said.

"What is it?" Hajime asked.

"I've been wondering about Izuru" Chiaki said," I haven't seen him in a long time and I'm worried about him, probably because I empathize with him for being a nobody"

"If you want I can let him talk to you" Hajime offered.

"I would like that, but you should know what I'm going to say" Chiaki said," I'm thinking since you and Izuru are so different then you both deserve to live separate lives"

"Like that heart separation thing you and Nanami went through?" Hajime asked.

"Sort of" Chiaki said," except we don't have that sleep drug"

"Do we need it?" Hajime asked.

"From what I remembered, Nanami needed to sleep to enter our shared hearts, so they probably used the drug as a precaution" Chiaki said," but as long as I make sure you don't wake up then it should be fine"

"Why don't you use heart synchronization on me, then you can keep me asleep and help Izuru and I" Hajime said.

"Yeah, that'll work" Chiaki nodded," now all we need to do is tell natsumi about our plan"

"I'd hate to poke the sleeping tigeress, so let's just leave her a note" Hajime said to which Chiaki agreed.

...

Once the note was written, Hajime and chiaki prepared for the heart synchronization. Hajime and chiaki sat on the floor across from each other. Chiaki raised her hand to summon her new keyblade until she hesitated.

"What's wrong?" Hajime asked.

"I'm trying to think of a song" Chiaki said.

"Can't you sing the same song?" Hajime asked.

"No, I want to sing a different song for you" Chiaki said.

"Okay, just know that I'll like any song you choose to sing" Hajime said, causing Chiaki to smile.

"I got it" Chiaki said.

"Go ahead" Hajime said.

Chiaki cleared her throat and started singing;

I wish to numb my heart, to numb my heart

Against the pain and take it away, because there must be more than this

Those countless times I gave up all hope

Because I couldn't change what's behind me

I hid inside my shell from the world

Out of sight, tucked away so that no one could see

Once again I feel all of the pain rise inside

Rushing back to me like an unstoppable tide

I don't need the warmth, and no, I don't need the pain

I'm fine without this thing called "hope"

I wish to numb my heart, to numb my heart

Against the pain and take it away

So I can overcome the dark, just like a shooting star in the sky

Into the deep, I sink, nearing the brink

My heart and soul succumb to the fall

I try to scream but there's no sound

So I accept I won't be found

But then I hear your voice calling

I'm no longer falling but rising up as you pull me to the light

As soon as chiaki finished singing, the two fell into a deep sleep and entered Hajimes heart. Inside Hajimes heart, the floors and walls were made of red stone bricks. Common street lanterns glowed all around and illuminated the area.

"Where do you think Izuru is?" Chiaki asked.

"He's probably lurking in the shadows somewhere" Hajime said.

Just as he spoke, a brown cat with green eyes jumped down to greet them. Chiaki hid behind Hajimes back, while the cat stepped toward Hajime. The cat stared into Hajimes eyes before turning its back and signaling Hajime and chiaki to follow it.

"I think it wants us to follow it" Hajime said," from the looks of it, he probably won't hurt us"

"Okay" Chiaki nodded," but why do you have a cat in your heart"

"There use to be a cat I took care of back at the reserve knights school" Hajime said," it meant a lot to me, so that's probably why it's here"

"Interesting" Chiaki said.

Together, the two followed the cat through a maze of brick corridors. As they walked, Chiaki noticed pictures of Hajime, through out his life, littered the walls. In all the photos, Hajime was all by himself. When she looked at Hajime, his face looked fairly grim.

"Are you okay?" Chiaki asked.

"Yeah" Hajime said after shaking his head," this is all in the past"

"That's right" Chiaki said," natsumi and I are here for you"

"Thank you, Chiaki" Hajime said.

"Anytime" Chiaki smiled.

The cat, noticing Chiaki and Hajime were lagging behind, started to run. Chiaki and Hajime ran behind it. The two chased after the cat until they reached a familiar apartment.

"This was the apartment I woke up in" Chiaki said.

"We've changed a lot since then" Hajime said.

"One of you has" Izurus voice spoke.

Chiaki and Hajime turned to see Izuru,seemingly out of nowhere, sitting on the bed. The cat greeted Izuru before jumping on his lap. Surprisingly, Izuru scratched the cat behind its ear causing it to purr.

"We've been looking for you" Chiaki said," Hajime, why don't you explain."

"I already know" Izuru said calmly," you want to separate our personas from each other".

"Yes, so will you let us do that?" Hajime asked.

"I will cooperate, however, for the separation to work, you must let go" Izuru said.

"What are you talking about?" Hajime asked.

"Our hearts have been separated for a while, yet you still cling to me" Izuru explained.

"No I don't" Hajime objected.

"But then why didn't your heart manifest its own body like me?" Chiaki asked.

"Yes, why was that?" Izuru asked.

"I..I" Hajime choked up.

"It's okay" Chiaki reassured him," i won't think any less of you no matter what you say"

"Then I'll tell you" Hajime smiled," the truth is that I was scared to lose that power and become worthless again"

"You don't need Izurus power anymore" Chiaki said as she placed a hand on Hajimes chest," You have your own power now"

"Then I don't have to worry" Hajime said," thank you"

"If you have finally accepted yourself, then I can finally be free" Izuru said.

With the consent of the two hearts, they were able to separate. As the hearts divided, Chiaki returned to her former place. When she woke up, both Izuru and Hajime were standing side by side and just in time for Natsumi to wake up.

"The hell is going on?" Natsumi asked.

"Izuru is his own person now" Hajime explained.

"He could be tricking us" Natsumi growled.

"It's okay, Izuru isn't going to hurt us" Chiaki explained.

"She speaks the truth" Izuru said," and I apologize for my previous actions"

"So what now?" Natsumi asked," are we all just going to be buddy buddy?"

"No, I plan to return to nanamis kingdom when we dock" Izuru said.

"Why?" Hajime asked.

"He loves her" Chiaki said.

"You are correct" Izuru said.

"You have a funny way of showing it" Natsumi huffed.

"I could say the same for you" Izuru said.

"Why you" Natsumi growled.

"Behave you two" Hajime said," we're going to twilight town"

"Fine" Natsumi sighed

"Very well" Izuru said.

"This is going to be fun" Chiaki smiled

...

A few hours passed as Hajime sailed the ship. To pass the time, Chiaki played cards with Izuru and natsumi. However Natsumi eventually stopped playing, after Izuru won for the thirtieth time. Chiaki and Izuru played a few more rounds until the ship reached twilight town. There, Hajime docked the ship and the group made their way off.

"So, you're headed to nanamis kingdom?" Natsumi asked

"Yes" Izuru said," I want to atone for what I have done, so I shall serve her"

"Then I wish you good luck" Chiaki smiled.

"I already have luck, but I accept and appreciate the gesture" Izuru said.

"Just say thank you, next time" Hajime said.

"I shall keep that in mind" Izuru said.

"It's a good thing Nanami is a very understanding and empathetic person" Natsumi said.

"I shall go now" Izuru said," good luck on your travels together"

So, Izuru left, allowing the trio to explore the town. By the end of the day, the trio bought some sea salt ice cream and headed for the clock tower.

"Why does this tower have to be so high?" Natsumi gulped when she looked down at the town below.

"It's so you can see the entire town" Hajime explained

"I think it's lovely" Chiaki said.

"Here, you should try putting your legs over the edge" Hajime said.

"Hell no!" Natsumi protested," that is an accident waiting to happen"

"Then we'll just sit where it's safe" Chiaki said.

"Good" Natsumi said.

"Didn't know you had arachnophobia" Hajime laughed.

"That's acrophobia, and no I don't" Natsumi protested

"Just eat your ice cream before it melts" Chiaki laughed at the two bickering.

"Fine" Natsumi said before biting into her ice cream.

"It's nice that we get to share this moment together" Hajime said.

"Look" Chiaki said as she picked up her crystal pendant," if you hold your charms out to the light, it glows so beautifully"

"You're right" Hajime said as he raised his charm to the light.

"Neat" Natsumi smiled when she lifted her charm to the light.

"I promise that on this moment that we'll always be together" Chiaki said.

"I second that" Natsumi smiled.

"Same here" Hajime smiled.

With that vow, the three promised to stay together and that they did. Together they sailed to all sorts of worlds, met all sorts of people, and had so many adventures.

The End


End file.
